


Cherry

by TristiCorde



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Angst, Ashen Romance | Auspistice, Blood Reveal, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Caliginous Romance | Kismesis, Canon Compliant, Canon Relationships, Character Study, Chatlogs, Clown Religion, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Relationships, Insanity, Karkat Hates Himself, Karkat Needs a Hug, Karkat Swearing, Minor Character Death, Multi, One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Panic Attacks, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-03-09 09:01:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 32,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18913765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TristiCorde/pseuds/TristiCorde
Summary: How each of Karkat's friends found out his color and how they reacted.





	1. Aradia

**Author's Note:**

> This will start out with Aradia's perspective and switch to Karkat's for the next chapter (Tavros). It will keep doing that (one friend then Karkat) as the fic grows. I tried to add all the tags I can think of but I will update them if I remember something. Please go easy on me. It's my second Fic here, but I'm still new to this site.  
> Enjoy! (or cry. crying works too)

When Aradia found out, she had bigger things to worry about than Karkat’s color. Mainly, she had to worry about the sun rising in its bright, burning, red that would soon drive the shadows into extinction and take her moirail with them. Aradia had to worry about how she could no longer manipulate her environment beyond what her natural hatched abilities allowed and that Sollux could no longer hear or see her. Aradia had to worry about how little she was worried because the spirits said help was coming and soon she would be okay with it; soon she would be okay with a lot of things.

In short, Aradia was too worried about her recent death to worry about Karkat’s skinned hands as he fell amongst the ruins of her hive and approached her (ex?) moirail. 

“Sollux,” Karkat asked, slowing his pace some after noticing how he was hunched over what Aradia knew to be her body. “The sun is rising dude, we need to get out of here.”

“K.K.,” Sollux answered in such a pitifully broken voice that Aradia was sure she should have felt a spike of pale pity for him had she been able to feel anything at all. “A.A. …”

Aradia didn’t miss the way Karkat wiped his hands on his dark pants, or how the bright red faded into the cloth before Karkat approached Sollux with a suit that should protect him from the suns rays. Karkat must have fetched it from his syladex while she was spacing out on his color. The spirits had said she would need to know about it later.

“There’s nothing we can do for her now,” Karkat informed, far more gently than Aradia had seen him behave before. “She wouldn’t want you to… die too.” 

Karkat was right, Aradia didn’t want Sollux to stay here in the open with the sun rising. The spirits told her that she needed to get Sollux to move. They directed her to her old husktop a short distance away from her ruined hive. It must have been blasted out the window during Sollux’s (Vriska’s) attack. It was scratched and part of it might no longer work but it was open and Trollian was already pulled up. Aradia opened a conversation with Karkat. The spirits told her she could use her powers to simply press the keys down since her fingers went thought the keys

apocalypseArisen [AA] begin trolling carsinoGeneticist [CG]

AA: karkat

CG: HOLY FUCK

AA: y0u and s0llux need to leave

CG: YOU ARE DEAD

CG: I AM LOOKING AT YOUR BODY RIGHT THIS SECOND

CG: YOU ARE DEAD SO HOW IN THE FLYING FUCK ARE YOU TALKING TO ME

AA: yes

AA: i am dead but I didn’t leave

AA: im a gh0st

AA: y0u and s0llux need t0 leave this place

CG: WHY THE FUCK SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU

CG: YOU ARE PROBABLY SOME SICK FUCKASS TOYING WITH ME THROUGH MY VERY DEAD FRIEND’S ACCOUNT

Aradia glanced at the sun. It didn’t hurt the way she knew it should. It didn’t hurt her at all. But it would hurt them if should couldn’t get their attention or if she couldn’t get Karkat to believe her. The spirits told her to lift the wreckage of her hive to block the sun and by them more time. Hopefully, it would also get Karkat to believe her. 

Aradia obeyed. Pieces of her hive moved. Someone, probably Karkat, screamed swears in the distance. Aradia thought that if she were feeling like herself, she would have laughed.

AA: I b0ught y0u time

AA: n0w take s0llux and leave

CG: FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK

AA: if it helps

AA: i can explain later 

AA: n0w leave

apocalypseArisen [AA] cease trolling carsinoGeneticist [CG]

The spirits changed Aradia’s modus so that they could interact with it and then captured her husktop. Aradia then followed Karkat and Sollux as they rode on Crabdad over the terrain to Sollux’s hivestem. Sollux needed a lot of help to not release his powers by accident and Aradia, the part of her that was growing smaller, was grateful that Karkat was such a good friend. Sollux was in no condition to fight off the undead that appeared during the daylight hours and while Karkat was a strong fighter, he still needed a little help from Aradia and Crabdad to get Sollux to safety.

Karkat stays with Sollux, probably to make sure Sollux doesn’t do anything stupid and it definitely had nothing to do with Sollux asking him to. Karkat didn’t try anything and after making sure Sollux was fed and checked for any psionic burnout, Karkat pushed Sollux into his ‘coon while Crabdad stayed out on the roof with Sollux’s Lusus.

Aradia stayed close so she could talk to him better despite neither boy being able to see or hear her. She was okay with that.

carsinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling apocalypseArisen [AA]

CG: OKAY

CG: TALK

CG: WATCH AS I TAKE THE PRECIOUS TIME OUT OF MY DAY TO TALK TO A VERY DEAD GIRL

CG: A DEAD GIRL WHO IS PROBABLY JUST SOME FUCKER WHO HACKED INTO HER HUSKTOP AFTER HER DEATH

CG: AND IF I EVER FIND THAT THAT’S THE CASE BY THE WAY

CG: JUST KNOW THAT THERE IS NO PLACE ON THE STUPID-ASS PLANET OR IN THE EVEN MORE STUPID-ASS EMPIRE

CG: THAT I CAN’T FIND YOU

CG: OR MORE IMPORTAINTLY, WHERE SOLLUX CAN’T FIND YOU

AA: 0kay

AA: can i explain n0w

CG: YES

CG: JUST TALK ALREADY

CG: I’M REALLY NOT IN THE MOOD TO BE DEALING WITH IDIOTS

AA: 0kay

AA: i died when s0llux, manipulated by vriska, attacked

AA: but i didn’t leave alternia

AA: im a gh0st

CG: YEAH I GOT THAT PART

CG: WHY DIDN’T YOU LEAVE

CG: AND IM NOT ENTIRELY CONVINCED YOU ARE YOU

CG: YOU DON’T SOUND LIKE ARADIA

AA: d0 I need t0 lift m0re rubble

CG: POINT TAKEN

CG: BUT I STILL NEED YOU TO PROVE THAT IT’S YOU SO SOLLUX WON’T ACCUSE ME OF BEING A JACKASS LATER WHEN I SHOW HIM THIS

CG: AND I DO PLAN ON SHOWING THIS TO HIM

CG: AND THE RUBBLE THING ISN’T GOING TO WORK SO WELL WITH HIM BY THE WAY

CG: I DON’T KNOW IF YOU WERE BUSY WITH YOUR FUCKING GHOST SHIT TO NOTICE BUT SOLLUX WAS PRETTY FUCKING UPSET AT THE TIME

CG: SO, IF YOU COULD MAYBE SAY SOMETHING ELSE SO HE KNOWS ITS YOU THAT WOULD BE FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC

Aradia can feel the spirits becoming more and more done with Karkat and this conversation. They had things they wanted her to be doing for them; something they said she needed to start getting ready for.

AA: i c0uld message him in the evening 

CG: NICE TRY ASSHOLE

CG: HE WON'T BELIEVE YOU

CG: HE WON’T BELIEVE YOU BECAUSE THE ONE THING HE WILL DEFINITELY FUCKING REMEMBER IS HOLDING HIS MOIRAILS DEAD BODY

AA: i can c0nvince him

CG: DID YOU NOT READ A WORD I JUST TYPED

The spirits are getting impatient. 

AA: if i can give s0me s0rt of pr00f, will y0u let it g0

CG: SURE

CG: HAVE YOU GOT ANY

AA: yes

AA: y0u fell d0wn

AA: y0u fell d0wn while hiking th0ugh the rubble t0 get t0 s0llux

AA: y0u cut y0ur hands

He doesn’t respond, so Aradia watches while he types, backspaces, then retype several messages. She doesn’t rush him. The spirits, while still impatient want to let this happen; whatever this is.

Karkat starts to worry his lip with his nubby fangs but stops himself before he can bleed. He doesn’t look as angry as he normally tries to sound now. He looks tense. He’s sitting with his legs crossed and tucked closer to himself with his husktop elevated on his knees. His back becomes more curved and his shoulders are now pulled up to his ears. Every muscle in his body looks ready to spring at some unknown threat. While he wasn’t relaxed before, this being another troll’s hive after all, he didn’t look quite this uneasy.

CG: YOU SAW THAT

AA: yes

CG: DID YOU SEE ANYTHING ELSE

AA: if this is ab0ut y0ur bl00d then yes

AA: i saw it

CG: YOU DID

AA: i did

AA: it was red

AA: bright red

Karkat started typing and erasing his messages again while biting the inside of his lip harder. The spirits didn’t want Aradia to wait this time though, so she didn’t.

AA: I w0n’t tell

CG: YOU WON'T

AA: i w0n’t

AA: it’s 0kay 

AA: I d0n’t care

CG: RIGHT

CG: THEN I GUESS

CG: I GUESS YOU CAN JUST CONVINCE THAT NOOKSTAIN ON YOUR OWN THEN

CG: BECAUSE CLEARLY, I CAN’T SHOW HIM THIS CONVERSATION NOW

CG: BUT I GUESS I BELIEVE ITS YOU THOUGH FOR WHAT ITS FUCKING WORTH

AA: thank y0u

CG: YOU BETTER NOT TELL ANYONE THOUGH

AA: i w0n’t

AA: I sh0uld g0 n0w

AA: and d0n’t flip 0ut

AA: I’ll talk t0 s0llux in the evening

AA: g00d m0rning karkat

CG: YEAH

CG: GOOD FUCKING MORNING SAYS THE DEAD GIRL

CG: FUCK MY LIFE

CG: BYE

carsinoGeneticist [CG] ceased trolling apocalypseArisen [AA]

Despite the spirits' continued instance, Aradia stayed in Sollux’s hive long enough to watch Karkat as he closed down Trollian on his husktop and rub his eyes with the heal of his hands. At least his shoulders where no longer being held up to his ears and he wasn’t worrying his lip anymore.

While Karkat probably wouldn’t sleep today due to the lack of a spare ‘coon, at least he didn’t look so frightened and frustrated anymore. At least he wasn’t grieving for Aradia as much. 

Aradia let the spirits guide her away. 


	2. Tavros

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tavros finds out when he is at his most helpless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recognize that Karakt never FLARPed in canon but that doesn't apply to him running damage control for everyone.

Karkat Vantas hiked his way carefully down a cliffside and tried not to think of the different ways he wanted to kill Vriska Serket just because she knew. Vriska fucking knew he was the referee this FLARP game, though he was not actually participating. Karkat’s job was to make sure deaths were minimal. Meaning, his job was to make sure no one important (read, higher then teal) was killed. Not that anyone expected him to succeed, only low-bloods died in these games- but he was damn sure going to make sure everyone he knew lived. Unfortunately for him, that included Tavros Nitram.

adiosToreador [TA] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG]

TA: aG JUST JUMPED ME OFF A CLIFF,

Oh, fucking hell, of course, she did. That was just Karkat’s luck! Well, no that was more on Tavros’s luck, but still.

TA: wITH MY BRAIN,

TA: aND, UHH,

TA: mY LEGS, ALSO,

What the hell? Duh?

TA: aND NOW, THEY FEEL,

TA: iNVISIBLE

Oh. Now Karkat gets what he was trying to say. Tavros had better be thanking his lucky fairy, or whatever the fuck it is he sees in that wiggler’s story, that Karkat and Crabdad are so close to his location.

TA: wOW, I’M SURE THERE WAS A BETTER WAY TO SAY THAT,

TA: aNYWAY,

TA: tHAT’S ALL THERE REALLY IS,

TA: tO REPORT ON THE SUBJECT,

TA: oF ME GETTING HURT,

CG: HEY ASSHOLE, STOP PLAYING GAMES FOR GIRLS

carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased trolling  adiosToreador [TA]

Karkat knew that sounded a bit cruel, even by his standards, but he had reached the cliffs and needed to focus on climbing. Two hurt assholes were just as useless as one hurt asshole. Besides, Crabdad couldn’t come down the cliffs to help if something happened. Karkat looked around for Vriska's hologram but couldn’t find her. Karkat kept the voice conversation open so in case someone completed whatever the hell the goal was and needed to tell him. He didn’t call the game off though, no one would be happy if he made them stop for someone as low as Tavros. 

Karkat heard bits and pieces of Aradia yelling something, Vriska being smug, and Terezi talking to both of them, but they weren’t talking to him, so he ignored it for now. It didn’t sound like they’d won. Minding the rocks and sharper objects made his progress slow but sooner but didn’t stop him from reaching the beach. 

“Hey, um, Karkat,” called Tavros and oh god, he sounded bad. “I-I can’t move.”

“Yeah I can see that moron,” Karkat growls at him, then winces. Tavros isn’t like his other friends who can see through, or take, his angry front. Besides, he’s hurt and might not fully understand that Karkat plans to actually do his job and not cull the weak like most FLARP referees. Karkat tactfully doesn’t say anything else as he approaches. Tavros watches with some apprehension through half-closed eyes that don’t always stay focused on Karkat as he approaches. Damn it, Tavros has a concussion and can’t move. Karkat doesn’t have great medical skills but he at least knows he has to keep Tavros awake until someone who can help comes. He probably shouldn’t move him either. Karkat sits down on the sand beside him and scans the beach for threats. 

“How long was I climbing down that cliff,” Karkat asks.

“A-awhile. Not too long though-though,” Tavros’s stammer has gotten worse. 

“Give me an estimate,” Karkat orders in his most leaderly/gentle voice while he checks up on the conversation. 

“uh, Ten min-minutes? I don-don’t know. I wasn’t counting.”

Form the looks of the conversation, the Scourge Sisters had won, but Terezi had broken away and didn’t take the reward money after Vriska bragged about hurting Tavros to everyone else. Aradia and Sollux were on their way. Karkat sent them the location and closed all the chat windows. He just needed to keep Tavros talking. Turning back, Tavros’s eyes where closed. 

Kicking him probably wasn’t the best approach to waking up an injured person but Karkat was grouchier than normal. Besides, Tavros shouldn’t have been playing this game in the first place. Only powerful low bloods could get through this sort of bullshit with their lives and while Tavros’s ability to talk to beasts is cool, it wouldn’t help him here and didn’t help him with Spider-bitch either. 

“Hey, nookstain, you need to stay awake,” Karkat shouted quietly. The ocean wasn’t his favorite place in the world and who knows what was nearby.

“Umm, okay,” Tavros answered weakly and looked up at Karkat with the same apprehension from before.  
“What,” Karkat demanded.

“You, uh, are just sit-sit-sitting here,” Tavros says like it’s obvious. Karkat tried not to be offended by the implications. He has no right to pass judgment of that sort on anyone, but he couldn’t tell Tavros that, even if he was helpless at the second. 

“Well, obviously,” Karkat retorts with a flick of a claw. “I don’t know how to fix you and it’s my job to make sure you idiots don’t kill each other or yourselves during this fucking stupid game so I have no choice but to sit here. What, did you think I was going to leave you here to die or finish what Vriska started? Don’t be ridiculous, Aradia would kill me. Besides, that would put a brown mark on my otherwise clean record.”

“Oh,” Tavros looks sheepish. “Thanks, for the, help I guess.”

“Whatever. You’re still a moron. You should have known better than to play with the Scourge Sisters and even a fucking wriggler would know better than to challenge Spider-Bitch alone. Congratulations, you’ve won the medal for stupidest, most suicidal, troll on the planet.”

“I-I guess,” He answers quieter than before and Karkat has to try not to feel guilty. Tavros could have been killed. He needs to learn what’s safe. Any further remarks are cut off by Tavros’s stupidly small Lusus buzzing around Karkat’s head.

“ULGH, Tavros, control your Lusus,” Karkat squawks, hands swatting at the fairy-bug-bull-thing.

“Umm, Kar-Karkat, he says someone is-is coming from the sea, though.”

Karkat stands quickly and Tinkerbull flies over a spot in the ocean nearby. He doesn’t even get all that smaller visibly, Karkat can still see the larger details in his wings. He draws his sickles, and steps between Tavros and the water, though he doesn’t raise them. Maybe he can handle this peacefully. When two tall, perfectly straight horns break the water, Tinkerbull flies back and hides behind Karkat with Tavros. Karkat squares his shoulders and tries to look bigger. He doesn’t succeed. 

The sea-dweller is tall, older, smiling, and carrying a scythe. His horns add a good two feet to the older boy’s height and the beautiful royal color accenting the formal, yet skin-tight, suit and adds to the perfectly elegant appearance. Karkat looks him in is violet-grey swirled eyes, but only just. Karkat gets the feeling Tavros is trying to blend into the sand. 

“Sorry, but this beach is closed as part of a FLARP game, sir,” Karkat barley adds the ‘sir’ on in time. Gog damnit, the smile full of perfect fangs grew wider, but the boy doesn’t stop coming. Stupid fucking entitled royals. 

“It was, my good lad,” He says in a way that convinces Karkat that ‘good lad’ is short for “Low-blood” and “Land-dweller”. “But it seems that the game is over. I have come to collect the bodies for my Lusus, you know how it is. I’m sure that won’t be a problem.” The smile grows, and the troll looms. He is still a good distance away but that hardly matters. 

“It wouldn’t be,” Karkat agrees or tries to. “But no one died. I’m the referee for this round. There is no one for you to collect here.”

“Oh,” he says looking a little put-out and a lot more dangerous. “Well, I can just take that injured one behind you. He doesn’t look like he’d be of much use to the Empire after… Well after whatever happened to the poor, little, lad.” The smile was back as he spoke and straightened his thin tie. 

“Sorry, sir, but he’s not actually fucking dead so I cannot-will not- hand him over. He is still one of my charges,” Karkat growls but doesn’t drop into a defensive stance. He doesn’t want to fight, he might lose or worse - bleed. That doesn’t mean he can’t add a little bit of a threat though. He isn’t a pushover like the idiot he is protecting. 

“Ah. I see,” He says, looking perfectly thoughtful leaning against the pole of his scythe and scratching his chin. Damn it, he was about to attack. Karkat tensed and waited. “Well, that really is too bad, my good lad. Because I think I’m going to take him anyway.” The smile returned, and the sea-dweller leaped using the pole as leverage.

The fight was a lot quicker than Karkat thought it would be. The other troll was overly confident and didn’t take Karkat seriously. Plus, Karkat had the advantage of paranoid training on his side, even if the other troll’s training was more focused and professional. Clearly, the boy hadn’t been paying attention. 

Karkat dodged the first attack, hooked both his sickles around the place where the scythe's blade connected to the poll and yanked the thing out of the startled hands of the other troll. Unfortunately, that left Karkat open and the other was now offended. The older troll leaped again, this time pinning one of Karkat’s hands down, scratched his chest through his sweater with the other, then froze staring at his claws. Karkat slit his neck open with his remaining sickle while the sea-dweller was still in shock. 

The body collapsed on top of Karkat, bleeding out on the sand over Karkat’s head. There were a few choking sounds and convolutions before the body went limp. Karkat pushed him off and stood, trying to feel proud of himself. He had just killed a sea-dweller, why did he feel terrible? And why couldn’t he look away form the body? He did it in self-defense and to defend a friend during a FLARP game, he was within his right legally. But, the boy had just been looking for food for his Lusus, like Vriska or Feferi, he had been within his right too. They had both been trying to survive and this was just a natural part of growing up. Why did he feel like crying?

“Umm, Kar-Karkat, is-is that…” Tavros snapped Karkat out of his swirling thoughts. Karkat turned slightly and looked over at the injured troll. Only, Tavros wasn’t looking at Karkat’s face, he was looking at Karkat’s ruined sweater and cuts. Cuts that were still bleeding in plain sight. 

Karkat’s eyes snapped to Tavros’s face. Tavros just looked shocked and stared the way the dead sea-troll had. Even though Karkat had the advantage, his knees locked and his shoulders hunched up. He stopped breathing, hands tight around the handle of this sickle, and stared at Tavros, waiting for …for something.

Tavros kept staring for a moment longer and Karkat could see the moment his thinkpan restarted when Tavros blinked and swallowed. He didn’t look sleepy now. Slowly, as if afraid of what he might see, Tavros looking up and into Karkat’s eyes. When they got there, a frown tugged at the corner of his lips and his brows furrowed. 

“Karkat,” Tavros asked. Karkat, noticed vaguely that he wasn’t stammering. The paralysis that had taken hold of Karkat broke and he looked away, down at the body of the sea-troll, and took a deep breath. He didn’t want to kill again, but what choice did he have? And could he get out of here in time before Aradia and Sollux came?

Slowly, he walked over to Tavros and tried not to feel nervous. It’s not like the brown-blood fucking could do anything anyway. Somehow, that thought made Karkat feel worse. Karkat sat on his knees with his legs behind him with his sickles in his hands. He couldn’t look Tavros in the eyes. He had just killed to protect him, was Karkat going to go back on that? 

“I won’t tell,” Tavros started, fear lacing the words and keeping the stammer out. Karkat thought that maybe it should be the other way around. “I won’t, I swear. Please. What could I do to you like this? Please, Karkat, blood doesn’t matter to me, you know that!”

“Shut up,” Karkat ordered and hated how his voice sounded so detached. Karkat could hear Tavros’s teeth clack together as he stopped mid-plead. Karkat barely stopped from saying he didn’t want to do this out loud before he turned his head, eyes staying glued to Tavros’s chest and throat. Tavros was breathing so fast, and the small scratches that covered his body made the wet sand look pale. Karkat’s arm wasn’t his own when it moved the sickle under Tavros’s chin and against the flesh of his neck. 

“P-please,” Tavros whimpered before remembered he had been told to shut up. Tinkerbull flew around in a panic but couldn’t come close. Karkat didn’t move, and Tavros held his breath as best he could. Neither moved for a what felt like an age though the waves kept track of the seconds. Finally, after a long time, and in hopes of gathering his courage, Karkat lifted his eyes to Tavros’s face.

Tavros had his eyes closed and his face pinched up with how tight he was holding them there and, in his effort, not breathing. Out of the corner of his eyes, Karkat could see his hands pinched into fists, though Tavros didn’t have the strength to move or defend himself. Tavros couldn‘t defend himself, not like the other troll. Tavros had also promised not to tell. 

Karkat signed and moved the sickle away from Tavros’s neck. He looked away from his face and just sat for a second trying to remember not to cry. His breathing might have betrayed him though. Tavros didn’t say anything as he started to breathe again in short, uneven, gasps 

“I-I won’t tell, Karkat,” he promised, a little steadier this time. “No one des-deserves to die just cause their blood is…”

“A mutation,” Karkat supplied voice void of anything. The tight ball in his chest hadn’t left yet but Tavros didn’t need to know that. Neither of them said anything for a moment before Karkat finally felt like he could talk. “I don’t want to kill you, but you’re a threat to me now.”

“You were a threat to me! Yo-…You still are. You didn’t kill me when you saw that I wasn’t going to recover from this fully. F-fuck, you protected me! Why would I turn a-around and turn you in-in? Th-that would just get me into trouble.”

Karkat sat, staring into space for a moment longer, considering. Tavros was fidgety but there wasn’t much he could do to get away. 

They sat in silence for a moment longer before Karkat stood, flipped through his belongings and found a spare shirt. He moved to an angle where Tavros would have a harder time watching before stripping off the ruined cloth, wiping up most of the blood, being careful over the new scratches, and putting on the new shirt. He then hid the old one in amongst his belongings. He kept his sickles out. 

When he returned, he sat so he was facing Tavros’s head, resting his head on his knees. Karkat stared at Tavros. Tavros stared back at Karkat. Tavros was still fidgety and nervous, though to his credit he never broke eye contact. Karkat tried his best to keep a straight face. 

“You won’t tell,” Karkat said finally, though it wasn’t said like a question.

“Yeah,” Tavros agreed regardless, and at last the tension broke. Both looked away from each other and took a deep breath. 

They didn’t speak again until Aradia and Sollux floated down the cliffs and took Tavros away. 


	3. Sollux, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Aradia found out she was dead. When Tavros found out he was helpless. When Sollux found out he was nither.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sollux would not let me settle on a scenario so I wrote two for him. That seems like the sort of thing he would make a writer do so I don't know why I'm surprised. This takes place before Aradia dies.  
> I just realized that I never mentioned that I have posted the majority of this story in Fanfiction. net. If you absolutely can't wait to read more or want to get ahead, then you can find the majority of it under the same name there. Be warned though, the chatlogs won't be colored and there will be a lot more mistakes.  
> I would like to thank everyone for the Kudos and the comments! I didn't think this would take off so well so soon, so thank you! I am glad you are enjoying it.  
> 

Sollux found out about Karkat by thinking through a well-timed punch after one of Sollux’s highs. The mediculler had decided to give him a pill that could level out the chemicals in his brain blah blah blah. Basically, he was finally going to be able to reach a steady level of control in his bipolar head, even if he was now registered as powerful to the Empire; even if he would still be able to hear the voices of the soon to be dead. The pills were new to his schedule, but they did seem to be helping. It was really nice to not have the crash after the last high. Aradia, Feferi, and Karkat had all convinced him to go when he started being really happy all the time and acting oddly. When Aradia took him back home he got to thinking about his other two friends.

Sollux already had his Moirail in Aradia but Feferi cared about him a lot in a color a bit redder than pale, and a whole lot more than she should now that he was probably going to be hooked up to her ship someday. Or he could be hooked into her ancestors’ ship, but Sollux didn’t want to think about that. He wasn’t sure if he felt the same for her yet or if he was allowed to even think about her in a quadrant. She was allowed to like who she wanted but he had…stricter limits and a shorter time to enjoy even those few rights he did have. It wouldn’t be fair to her, but… She was the Heiress, and no one could stop her if she chose him. He wasn’t sure if he wanted her to be stopped if she chose him flushed.

But Karkat was different. He didn’t give clear signals for any quadrant and ranted in equal tenacity about all of them. Sollux knew he was just a friend for the time being, but who knows if he would ever want to be more? In fact, who knew anything about Karkat other than his insane love for rom-coms, shitty codes, video games, and the color grey? Speaking of, Sollux knew Karkat knows Aradia. Aradia is the lowest there is on the hemoscale. Why would he still be so clingy to his dull grey text?

Sollux was already be going about doing something for the three that had convinced him to go to that mediculler to help his symptoms, even if it set his fate to a ship engine for life. He had gotten Aradia a pair of yellow diamond earrings while they had been out. She had squealed and hugged him. Even though he called her a sap for saying ‘Pale for you’ in public. For Feferi he had guaranteed his support in her efforts to remodel the Empire. He wished he could have given her more, but there really wasn’t much he could give the Heiress. At least, not much he felt comfortable giving her yet anyway. For Karkat he was going to give him some random rom-com coming out, but now he thought about inviting him over for a little bit of gaming. That would serve his purpose better anyways.

twinArmageddons [TA] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG]

TA: hey kk, you on?

CG: THAT DEPENDS

CG: ARE YOU ON DRUGS

TA: rude. you wanted me two go two that mediiculler kk.

CG: EXACTLY

CG: I WON’T TALK TO YOU UNLESS YOU ARE TAKING THE PILLS 

CG: BECAUSE IT WOULD BE JUST LIKE YOU TO FORGET THEM

CG: ITS NOT RUDE IF ITS FOR YOUR HEALTH, DUMBASS 

CG: AND I KNOW FEFERI AND ARADIA WILL BACK ME THE FUCK UP

CG: I WILL MESSAGE THEM IF I HAVE TO I FUCKING SWEAR

TA: chiill, kk. iive taken the piill2.

TA: ii was ju2t goiing two a2k iif you wanted two come over two play thii2 new game wiith me

CG: OH

CG: WHY DO I HAVE TO COME OVER TO PLAY A STUPID GAME?

CG: IT'S NOT A BOARD GAME IS IT

TA: no, tho2e are lame

TA: iit2 a viideo game

CG: THEN WHY DO I HAVE TO COME OVER TO YOUR DUMP OF A HIVE TO PLAY?

CG: WE COULD JUST DO IT ON MULTIPLAYER YOU SHITSTAIN OF A BRAINIAC

TA: well, we could but ii need help wiith the 2tory liine

CG: IM SHOCKED

CG: DID SOLLUX FUCKING CAPTOR JUST ASK FOR MY HELP?

CG: WITH A VIDEO GAME?

CG: HAHAHA

TA: yeah, thii2 wa2 a mi22take. Never miind iill a2k aa

CG; WAIT

CG: I MIGHT BE ABLE TO TAKE SOME TIME OUT OF MY BUSY SCHEDULE TO HELP YOU BEAT THE GAME

CG: WHEN WERE YOU THINKING WE WOULD DO THIS?

TA: ii don’t know. when can you bee here?

CG: I MIGHT BE ABLE TO MAKE IT TOMORROW

TA: ehehe. bu2y 2chedule iindeed

CG: SHUT UP YOU DUMBFUCK HUSKTOP SHUTIN

CG: IM DOING YOU A KINDNESS LIKE THE WONDERFUL TROLL I AM

TA: whatever you 2ay kk

TA: ju2t bee here twomorrow as soon as you can

twinArmageddons [TA] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG]

Great now Sollux just needed to get a new, hard game that he might be able to pretend to suck at when Karkat came over. That should be easy, but what was going to be hard was to find a way to get him to reveal just the right kind of information for Sollux to figure out his color. He didn’t really want to make Karkat bleed because that would be a shitty move to make and to keep Karkat as a friend. All though, if he plays it off really well afterward it might workout anyways. Hopefully.

The day passes and before Sollux knows it he’s trying to do a last-minute herding session to get all his bees obtained and contained into just his respite block. That is all the cleaning he does though because he knows Karkat’s hive is in just as bad shape and if Karkat says otherwise he’s a fucking liar and Sollux will call him on it.

It's still bright out when Sollux hears screeching from the roof of his hive-steam. Minutes later, there is a knock on the door. Huh, Karkat must have left his hive really early in the evening to get here. He’s certainly grumpy enough when he storms in before Sollux can fully open the door.

“Good evening kk, did you have a nice trip?”

“Fuck you. Just set the game up.”

Welp, Sollux tried to be polite its Karkat’s fault if he’s rude from now on. Sollux does as he’s told while listening to Karkat putt around his kitchen, probably making some of that bitter brown liquid he was so fond of. The game comes up without a fuss and Sollux tries to think of how to proceed. He really should have set out some questions for him to go from. But hey, should all else fail, he can just hit Karkat in the face with the controller. Yeah, actually he’s not feeling up to asking questions. He’s probably just going to hit his friend in the face. 

Karkat comes back with a tall cup of something hot, looks at the game menu, snorts, and sits by his controller. 

“Wrong game, fuckhead,” Karkat deadpans.

“What, no it’s not.”

“Yeah. It is. You bragged about how you finished it before me, remember?”

“Oh,” Sollux rushes to change it out for another game that he knows Karkat hasn’t heard of, changes it to a section he didn’t bother to finish and hopes Karkat is too deep into that mug of his not to notice the spaces that are full of 100% markers. It's kind of a boring part and for how much Sollux had played this game, he’s surprised he is faking as well as he is. The looks Karkat sends him when he defeats a monster that was supposed to surprise them aren’t confidence instilling though. 

Soon they get into their regular swing of gaming with Karkat moving into odd position to get his controller higher to make the character jump better when Sollux decides to go for it. He had been moving some himself, though slightly more than normal, so what would come next would seem more like an accident than a thing he had been planning. Just as Karkat moved back in hope of dodging a flamethrower, Sollux swung out like he was adding force to his sword strike. Both strikes landed right where he wanted them too.

“OW, SHIT!”

“Oops, sorry kk,” Sollux turned to where Karkat was holding his nose. Karkat opened one eye and met Sollux’s own. The look was hard to read but suddenly Sollux began to regret this whole thing. It was a bit too late though 

“Hey, are you- “

“Where is our ablutions chamber?”

“Down the hall, hand on,” Sollux got up and ran.

“No, Sollux I can-“

“Just wait there kk,” Sollux orders and uses his powers to hold him in place while Sollux gets some cloth. When got there he let up on his hold and rushed back quickly through the hive to the meal preparation block. Just in time to see Karkat try to wipe his face with what remained of his napkins. The thing was, there wasn’t enough of them stalked to clean up the too bright red. 

Sollux stared, and Karkat stared back. Karkat moved first, and he moved fast, drawing his sickles and changing, trying to go around the table. It took him just long enough to get around for Sollux to wake up and throw Karkat back onto the wall, using his powers to keep him pinned and to rip the blades out of his hands. With Karkat pinned up Sollux could clearly see the neon red leaking slowly from his friend's nose and smudged around his mouth. 

Sollux slouches against the table and takes off his glasses trying to gather his thoughts. Hitting Karkat was a mistake because it was obvious that this was going to be hard to play off, not with that being Karkat’s color and defiantly not with Sollux having him pinned to the wall. This… this is messed up. Karkat just tried to attack him, or to at least escape because of this and honestly, Sollux couldn’t blame him. He could get culled for this. Sollux should be culling him. 

Sollux looked at Karkat and was sorely tempted to look away. His friend was glaring at him, but his limbs were trembling and his breathing was shallow, quick, harsh puffs from his mouth like Karkat had been running for miles. He kept clenching his jaw like he wanted to say something but kept thinking better of it and Sollux had no idea how to fix this. Karkat looked away first slouching against the invisible bonds.

“Get on with it,” Karkat finally demanded in the dullest, most defeated and sickening tone Sollux had ever heard. 

“What,” Sollux asked, knowing damn well what Karkat was asking. Karkat sighed before answering.

“Cull me.” Sollux stares for a second because Karkat and defeated don’t belong in the same sentence. “Don’t turn me into the drones. Please, I- I can’t face that. Just do me solid and cull me yourself.”

“I’m not going to cull you, KK! And I’m not going to turn you into the drones either!”

Sollux can tell Karkat doesn’t believe him by the disappointed, sad look he gives him. Sollux tried not to vomit. This whole situation wrong and he can almost smell the fear on his friend. His friend. Probably one of his closest. Damn. Karkat shouldn’t be pinned to his wall, shouldn’t be so defeated looking, shouldn’t be asking Sollux to cull him instead of turning him, shouldn’t be a mutant, and shouldn’t believe Sollux would harm him in the first fucking place! 

“Damn it kk,” Sollux complains out loud. “why do you always make things so hard and so extreme!” 

“You’re one to talk,” Karkat answers, but the humor that was intended falls flat. They stare at each other for a second longer before Sollux makes up his mind on the best way to fix things. Well, the best way assuming Karkat doesn’t kill him.

Slowly, Sollux pushed off the table and walked the few steps to the wall. Karkat made to shift his weight but there wasn’t anywhere for him to go and nothing to really push off of that could hold up against Sollux’s powers. Sollux noticed that Karkat was looking anywhere but at him until he stopped squirming. Slowly, not looking away from his friend, he bent and picked up a sickle. Sollux noticed the exact instant Karkat’s grey eyes widened a fraction and his breathing started to pick up again. Karkat’s eyes darted around to the other blade for a second before meeting Sollux’s eyes again. Sollux leaned to the side a little and picked up the second blade. Karkat was clenching his jaw and glaring in that terrified, cornered animal way again. Slowly, even more slowly than before, and still without looking away, Sollux stood up and used his height advantage to look down at the pinned troll, forcing Karkat to expose his neck if he wanted to keep looking Sollux in the eye. Karkat kept staring; his head moving back against the wall after a thoughtful pause. He wasn’t breathing at all now. Sollux wasn’t sure he was breathing either. Sollux raised the blades, and Karkat broke eye contact to look at them rising before screwing his eyes shut in the most pitiful, I’m-trying-not-to-cry, sort of way. Karkat didn't move his head away from the wall.

Sollux let go of his psionics. However, he wasn’t expecting Karkat to fall to the floor like a wet noodle, letting out a gasp of surprise. Sollux sat down too, while Karkat blinked and tried to catch his breath. He looked back at Sollux just after he had sat down too. Before Karkat could ask, Sollux flipped the blades around and offer them both by the handle. He couldn’t look Karkat in the eyes, not even when the other troll took them just as slowly as Sollux had picked them up. Sollux waited for a second before risking a look. Karat was looking at him questioningly again.

“Are you going to use them,” Sollux demanded.

“Against you?”

Sollux nodded, not breathing.

“No, Sollux. I’m not going to kill you,” Karkat visibly relaxed. "I don't think I could without you stopping it."

“But if I couldn't, why wouldn't you,” Sollux demanded. “I know about you now.”

“Because you’re my friend, nitwit!” Sollux stared until Karkat got it. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.” 

Pause.

“Well, I’m going to go rinse my face now. Unless you still have a problem with me in your absolution block.”

“Yeah, no. Go ahead,” Sollux stood with Karkat but didn’t move when he did. Just before Karkat was gone completely he called out again “And don’t disappear. I still need you to help me with that game.”

“You mean the stupid easy game you were faking being bad at?”

“Y-yeah” Sollux was not blushing. Not at all. “that one.”

“…Fine.”


	4. Sollux, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never enter another Troll's hive without warning them you are coming, even if the only way to do so is to yell from the outside.

Sollux wasn’t proud of the way he had found out, mostly because he never though Karkat was, or could be, afraid of him. Sure, Sollux was a douche with incredible mind powers, but he had always assumed Karkat was some sort of mid blood and therefore had no reason to be afraid. Karkat always wore those ridiculous sweaters like he needed the extra heat and pranced around like he was far superior in every way. However, Sollux didn’t think Karkat could be too high up because he still cared for those whom he let talk to him on a regular basis. Aradia even reported KK calling Sollux his best friend (though Sollux wasn’t too sure how to react to that little piece of gossip). 

Hell, KK had even been one of the ones to insist he go get some meds to help with his mood swings. The meds didn’t help his powers and didn’t help the voices of the soon to be dead, but he felt more like he could control himself better which was a plus. It also meant he would be taken to the ships a little early but that was his fate, to begin with, so it didn’t matter much since he could enjoy his wriggler sweeps better now because of it. Fuck, going even landed Sollux a moirail in Aradia.

It was before he went to the mediculler that Sollux found out though. Karkat had asked him to come over to help with some sort of computer problem that later Sollux realized Karkat had caused on purpose to make sure he didn’t do anything dumb while coming up from a particularly low period. Not even KK is stupid enough to let such a dangerous and beginner level virus loose on his computer. Of course, Karkat does a lot of stupid stuff and it’s not like he’s going to admit to helping another outright.

It was not the first time Sollux had been to Karkat’s hive, but boy was he glad Biclops-dad was large enough to carry him and his equipment. Sollux guessed he could have just used his powers, but he wasn’t feeling it that evening, so he didn’t. Stupid bipolar. Thankfully Karkat’s Lusus is big enough and familiar enough with Biclops-dad to be chill about the company. Both have to hang out outside though because Biclops-dad would throw a fit if he went into another trolls hive with their Lusus. Sollux isn’t sure if he’s jealous as fuck or protective. Sollux also isn’t sure which is worst. 

Sollux doesn’t notice that the Crab isn’t waiting outside this time like he normally is when he hears Biclops-dad’s powers humming. Sollux also fails to notice the teal droplets on the walkway.

There is nothing spectacular about KK’s hive and doesn’t give any hint about blood color. He could be lime for all Sollux knows. Not that that is on his mind when he arrives. Nope, all Sollux wants is to get out of the open, eat some of Karkat’s food, and go home. Seriously, he is not in the mood for shouty assholes and their failures at programming. But… Fuck it, he was more in the mood for it now than he was a week ago when Karkat first asked and KK is his friend so he might as well help. If nothing else, Aradia said getting out and about should help with the pick-me-up prosses. Besides, Sollux sorta wants KK to unblock him so he can get back to gaming. Gaming really helps too.

Sollux knocks, and to his surprise, the door swings the second any pressure is applied and a strong smell of iron, salt, and decay waves out through the door. That gets Sollux’s attention. All hives are locked all the time and the smell of death isn’t one to just sit in the hallway. Behind him, Biclops-dad hums in worry. Ignoring him, and readying his powers, he slips into the hive and follows the stench. The red and blue light coming from behind his glasses gives the dim hall an odd glow and makes the shadows dance in such a way that Sollux wished he’s brought a different light source. He doesn’t go far before he finds a massive teal stain in the middle of the recreation block. Thankfully the lights still work, but even with them on Sollux knows there isn’t a body. 

Sollux stares at the stain. Teal? Was Karkat seriously teal? Where is his-the body? From the size of that puddle, there should be one. Is the attacker still here? The red and blue lighting gets bigger, brighter, and louder; his psionics crackle and pop with eagerness and the hope that Karkat’s killer is still looting the hive. He really wants to… meet them. Yeah. With much more confidence, than before, Sollux stalks through the halls and peeks into every room. Oddly enough, nothing looks like it has been touched. If Sollux wasn’t so pissed off with whoever thought they could get away with killing Karkat, he’d find this a bit odd. But he’s a psionic, and more powerful than most high-bloods so who gives a fuck? All he can think about is making that stupid fucking asshole pay. No way in hell are they getting away with killing KK. He’ll even enlist TZ if he has too, she’ll defiantly be down with finding them for this. Fuck, how should he tell her? How should he tell all of them? How dare this fucking bastard put him in this position and how DARE they touch KARKAT!

The sound of running water from the floor above draws Sollux’s attention and forces him to try to contain his powers. He doesn’t want to just kill them in a blast of light. He wants to savior their death, wants them to know how not okay it was to kill Karkat, and wants them to bleed the same way Karkat did. With the help of his powers, his feet don’t touch the stairs- he knows how they groan under any weight- as he ascends and stays low in the hall, staying as quiet and as hidden as possible, not using his powers at all. The pictures of movies and various props hanging on KK’s walls seem more mocking than anything and saddening than worthy of the laughs he would have thrown at the troll who owns them…Owned them. He wants to take this bastard alive more than ever, give them no chance to fight. The water turns off. The door to the absolutions block is opened.

The second they come into his line of sight he warps his powers around them, lifts them off the ground, and forces their limbs to their bodies. It was almost too easy to contain them. Too easy and nowhere near as satisfying. Sollux let out a growl and throws them against the door frame when they start struggling. Hard. 

“OW! What the fuck!?”

Wait, Sollux knows that voice. He knows that voice very well because there is none like it. And he never thought he’d hear it again. His powers disappear, and the troll falls to their knees, one hand on the shoulder that was thrown into the door frame and the other helping them stay in a crouched, ready to strike stance. 

“…Karkat…?”

“Captor!? What the hell did you do that for!?”

Sollux doesn’t answer but flips the lights on with a thought. Karkat is lit up and his glare becomes less feral and more familiar, but it doesn’t soften. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing sneaking around my hive you like a huge fucking slither beast, you lispy freak?! Didn’t your Lusus teach you its polite to knock!”

“You’re alive,” Sollux answered, suddenly sitting on the ground, just staring and his friend. “Holy shit… You’re okay.”

“Yeah, duh,” Karkat answers, attitude changing and scowl disappearing into a frown. “Did you seriously think I’d die if I didn’t talk to you for a few days?” The humor is lost on Sollux.

“I saw the blood in the other block,” Sollux realizes he hasn’t stopped staring but the sudden absents of the rage in place of relief is a bit disorienting. 

“Blood,” KK, asks looking a bit frightened before the pieces click. “Oh, you mean the teal blood staining my carpet? Yeah, some asshole FLARPer thought it was okay to raid my hive to get an advantage over his advisories. Dad was taking the body away.”

Okay, that makes sense. And clearly Karkat’s alive so Sollux can stop acting like a stupid wriggler with a flush crush now. Right now. Any time will do.

“Sollux… You want to say something,” Karkat has moved and is suddenly kneeling in front of him, concern obvious as he continues to frown because it’s Karkat and all he ever really does is frown.

“I thought you were dead,” And okay, that wasn’t the best thing to say to help with the awkward moment Captor, get your shit together. KK was the one attacked by some out of line fucker, not you.

“Oh… Yeah, not dead,” KK answers like it needs to be said or like Sollux can’t see that. Like Sollux can’t reach out and touch him if he needed proof that his best friend was still alive. 

Sollux swallows and looks down. Karkat’s hands are still on the ground, his knees right by Sollux’s feet, hands on either side. Karkat’s hands caught Sollux’s attention, well just one hand. The one that was slammed into the door frame. The one with a small smear of neon red were KK’s sweater rubber down lower on the wrist when he moved it. The one with mutant blood on grey skin and darkening the sleeve of the sweater. 

“Um… KK, what’s that” Sollux asks like the genius he is because nope, that’s not a color blood is allowed to come in. Sollux hears when Karkat sees what he’s looking at because he shouts out a loud “FUCK” and leaps away from Sollux, rushing back into the ablutions block, slamming and locking the door behind him. Sollux stairs up at the closed door, in shock for a different reason. Sollux recovers faster this time.

“KK,” Sollux calls out several moments too late. No answer. It’s too quiet on the other side of the door. “KK, answer me.”

There is the sound of something metal shifting. It's so faint he might have imagined it. 

“Karkat, answer me. You don’t have to come out, I’m not going to make you, and I won’t come in, but I need to know if you’re listening.”

“…I’m listening,” Karkat whispered. The only reason Sollux could hear it was because he was probably leaning against the door. 

“Okay. Good.” What now? This is not something that can be laughed away. Karkat should have been culled as a grub. He knows that, and so does Karkat. Hell, he should be culling him now. Or running to turn him into the drones. Maybe using Karkat as a bargaining chip for his own safety in the Empire. That is what any other troll with a proper think-pan would do. It’s a good thing Sollux never had a proper think-pan.

The thought of Karkat dying makes him sick to think about. It was just two minutes ago he though KK was dead. The rage at whoever might had taken his life was all-consuming, but there was grief; true, horrible, devastating grief that might have sent him deeper into depression than he had ever been before. It would be so much worst if he was the reason Karkat was dead. No one would want to talk to him again. He wouldn’t want to talk to him again. But he can’t just say that, there’s no proof he can give his friend for his… well, friendship. Not with the dirt he has on KK now. He could blackmail Karkat to do anything for him now that he knows. Somehow, that’s just as sickening as being the cause of his friend’s death.

“Sollux…” Karkat’s louder this time, shaking Sollux from his thoughts. Shit, he took longer than he should have. Karkat’s probably even more frightened now. 

“Yeah, I’m still here asshole. I’m just trying to think this through,” Sollux answers trying not to sound too harsh because their normal banter isn’t going to help anything right at the second.

“What’s there to think about,” Karkat bits back, back to his normal volume, but his tone is too fearful and cold. “You saw it. I can’t beat you in a fight. I’m trapped, and you must choose between culling me yourself or turning me over to a public, fucking humiliating and painful execution. At least give me the dignity of a quiet death Sollux.” Karkat’s shouting had turned to whispers broken up by fast breathing by the time he finished. And, fuck it, Sollux is going to have to try convincing him. Shit. 

“Quiet death? You want me to cull you!? Did you not see how I reacted when I thought you were dead just a minute ago, fuckwit? Do you seriously think I can go through with that? And why is that an option to begin with! Who said I was turning you in or culling you or thinking about how to kill you at all? Do you seriously have such little faith in me that you think I would throw away our friendship for a blood mutation?”

“Well, what else was I supposed to think! You were so quiet and made sure I hadn’t jumped out the window or some other shit,” Karkat shouts back. “You could have been calling the drones. You could have been planning to break in, you could have been trying to reach through the walls and squeeze me to death. You could have been thinking about anything for all I know!” 

“I already told you I wasn’t going to force you to come out or force my way in,” Damnit, Vantas never listened on the best days. This wasn’t going to be easy. “And for your information, I was trying to think of some way to convince you I am not a threat to you! You have a good reason not to trust me, but when I thought you were dead you saw how angry I was. And when you weren’t you saw how relieved I felt. Fuck, I literally fell over I was so relieved to see you breathing! I couldn’t take you dying because of me Karkat. I can’t kill you or do anything to get you killed directly or otherwise. I know I’m shit at this. I wouldn’t believe me if I was in your position. Just…think about? Please.”

Silence.

“KK?” 

Nothing.

“Okay, well… I…I’m not leaving until you feel ready to come out so…yeah.”

It took a few minutes, but soon he heard water running again. There were some other sounds, but the water muffled them to make too much of a distinction beyond the sound of drawer closing. At least he didn’t smell any more iron and salt. Sollux sat down beside the door to wait. He heard the Crab come back, chattering at his dad outside, and come in. Probably to finish cleaning up the mess downstairs. It took a while, and Sollux was glad he brought his palm husk with him. He tried to play a few games with it to calm his nerves, but mostly he used it to keep track of the time. 

It takes exactly thirty-three minutes for KK to open the door and come out. He’s wearing a shirt now, but it's still long sleeved and a blackish sort of grey with his symbol. He won’t look Sollux in the eyes, but at least he’s not armed and attacking. Sollux stood up slowly. He remembered Tavros mentioning something about not making any sudden movements with a frightened animal. It might not apply to trolls but not surprising KK sounds like a good plan given the seriousness of the moment.

“Hey,” Sollux starts.

“Hey,” Karkat answers still far too quiet, but with a lot more confidence. “Okay, so I thought about what you said and you are totally right. There is no fucking way I can believe that. And not in the good ‘Oh I can’t believe he pities me back I’m gonna die’ can’t believe either. No, this is the ‘I can’t see the lie, but I know there is one because it's conditioned into my fucked up thought prosses that was trained to always look for any and all faults that could be hidden kindness and good will towards all’ sort of can’t believe. But I also know that if you had called the Drones they’d have gotten here by now and neither of us would be standing so that means you were waiting for me to come out to ambush me -don’t glare at me like that, I’m not done- or your shitty excuse for a friendship proposal was actually sincere for once. And since you have yet to kill me, option one is looking less and less likely. So, while I still don’t completely believe you right now, I guess I can try too. Maybe. I can’t win a fight with you at any time and now is no fucking exception. But if you want to keep me around for… whatever, then I won’t- well I’ll try not to complain. We both know I’m going to complain a little bit. So. Yeah, that’s all I’ve got to say about that at the moment.”

Sollux just stares at him for a moment because wow. Where does he even start with that? Maybe the beginning would work? Karkat is looking at him now, which is an improvement, but there is still too much nervousness and an undercurrent of fear for Sollux’s taste. Karkat should not be afraid of him. Ever.

“Okay. So, I think you’re saying you don’t believe me fully, but you believe me enough. For now,” Sollux starts and hesitates enough for Karkat to nod sheepishly. “And… That you think I’m going to use your blood as leverage to make you do things?” Karkat blushes and looks away scowling.

“Sort of.”

“Wow, KK.” Something in Sollux’s voice forces Karkat to look up. “I’m…Trying not to be insulted right now. Yeah, that’s a logical conclusion-“

“Damn right it is!”

“-And I get the whole not believing me fully thing because that’s just common sense on your part given everything. But blackmail? Seriously? I’m not the Scourge Sisters KK! I’m not going to force you into anything with this. Fuck, I wouldn’t even do that to a Kismesis, let alone a friend.”

They glare at each other for a second, and Sollux can imagine the grey irises filling with the neon red only one of his own eyes have. Surprisingly, Karkat breaks eye contact first. 

“…Fine. Whatever.” Sollux can’t tell if that means he passed some test and Karakt believes him now or if KK is still waiting for Sollux to laugh and blow his brains out. “Why did you come out here in the first place?”

Yes, a change of topic! That works, Sollux can defiantly work with that!

“You blocked me because I wasn’t coming to fix your husktop remember? I am here to fix it.”

“Oh. Right. Come on,” Karkat starts to lead the way back to his block. The silence is terrible. Maybe a change of topic wasn’t the best idea after all. Sollux sits down at the desk and Karkat wanders someplace out of his sight. Sollux doesn’t turn around though. If he wants Karkat to trust him again he needs to show he trusts Karkat, even with his back to him. Hopefully, Karkat doesn’t try anything. Sollux doesn’t want to lose Karkat, but he wants to live too.

It was a stupid virus, too be honest. It doesn’t take two minutes to fix. When he stands up Karkat is looking out the window intently. Sollux tries not to take it as an implication of mistrust and insult. He doesn’t quite succeed. He calls Karkat over and explains what it was. Karkat doesn’t act surprised and irritated as he normally would (he thanks Sollux for the help???). Again, Sollux tries and fails not to take it as an insult. The silence back down to the main level is deafening. Sollux can’t take it.

“Normally getting knocked around isn’t enough to make you bleed.”

“That teal blood I killed got my arm kind of bad and getting thrown around by your panicked ass messed up the bandages and reopened the wound. Thanks for that by the way.”

“Oh.” Welp. There goes the conversation. Way to go, Sollux. Real smooth.

They reach the front door and head out. Crab-dad is laying down but his head is raised so he’s clearly alert. Bi-clops-dad is sitting but his heads are sagging and the snores a loud. Stupid city Lusus. At least he wakes up when they get closer. 

Shit, he has to go, and he still hasn’t found a way to fix things with KK.

“Are we still friends,” He blurts, then winces internally. That’s the sort of sad thing KK would say, not him. But it did cover everything he wanted to know so…

“…Yeah, we are. I just need a little time to calm down and shit,” Karkat answers. It isn’t very convincing. 

“Right,” Sollux answers. They stand there for a second longer and everything just gets more awkward. “So… bye then?”

“Yeah. Bye,” Karkat steps away and heads back to his own Lusus. Sollux tries not to feel the sting as bad as he does when he climbs on his own Lusus and gets it to take off for home. This was the roughest visit to KK’s yet. He tells himself that the wind is the reason his eyes sting.

Then Sollux’s palm-husk goes off.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased blocking twinArmageddons [TA]

carcinoGeneticist [CG] begin trolling twinArmageddons [TA]

CG: YOU BETTER KEEP TALKING TO ME YOU ASSHOLE

CG: I MIGHT NEED YOU TO COME OUT AGAIN

carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased trolling twinArmageddons [TA]

It shouldn’t feel like a victory as much as it does, but no one needs to know it felt like a victory at all.


	5. Nepeta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never walk through Teapots alone.

Nepeta found out during the Game. It had been a simple thing, a problem of ego on Karkat’s part, that had led to the whole thing. Seriously, why do people figure out calling him 'a great warrior' would get him to do what they want? 

As the Game had progressed, everyone found it easier and more practical to stick together in pairs just in case something went wrong, or a task needed two people. The exception was Eridan, but he had been acting more aggressive since Feferi dumped him. Gamzee usually liked to travel with Karkat and that odd, stab-happy, alley of theirs but in typical Gamzee fashion, he would disappear from time to time. When Karkat couldn’t find him, or in some cases could reach him, he would usually call on Equius to come and help get the clown down and he would come to help with Nepeta in trade. It was a little awkward between him and Nepeta because her crush on him was painfully red and even more painfully obvious. It was also a challenge to deal with Equius because no matter how strong- excuse me- STRONG he is and how annoying (and, again, PAINFULLY OBVIOUS) his black crush on the clown was, it was almost never worth how much the blue-blood grated on his nerves. Even if he was one of the only trolls to obey Karkat consistently. (Which was a super gross fetish and Karkat felt gross every time he had to use it to his advantage.)

It was on one such occasion that what Gamzee had gotten himself taken by imps for the pie he made and locked in a rather impressive tower in Karkat’s land that Karkat and Jack couldn’t breach that the two traded out. Equius said it would take even him a few hours. The tower was most impressive, and he didn’t want to destroy ‘such STRONG a work of art’ by simply breaking through the walls. Plus, that might put Gamzee at risk. Jack went to check on his inside men because Nepeta annoyed him quite a bit more than some of the others and he wasn’t allowed to stab Karkat’s friends. Especially Nepeta because of Equius found out Karkat would be fucked. (Besides, Jack seemed to have no problem stabbing Karkat as it was.)

“Wait,” Karkat said while moving through the sugar cubes. “Your plan to take the massive Imp base, located in a giant teapot because that makes perfect fucking sense, is for us to just walk up and fight them all?!”

“Yep! That is the next step in solving the mysteries of my land and fighting my Denizen,” Nepeta chirped, trying to keep the cat puns to the minimum. Karkat liked them less in person than online and he guessed she could tell. “Don’t worry Karkitty, I’m a great hunter and we have our sprites! Paws, you said you’re a great warrior, so we should be fine.” He was quiet for a moment too long before answering.

“Damn straight I am! Let’s get moving,” he declared, raising a sickle. He also started moving faster, making the little sugar cubes shift more. Somehow that made moving harder than before.

Nepeta tried to get him to talk about FLARPing, but he only ever served as a referee instead of actually participating. She had said that at least he was doing it by choice instead of because a stupid moirail told him not to. The sad part was that he actually agreed with Equius (ew) about FLARPing -that it was dangerous and stupid, not it was a low blood sport- and that Equius was probably right to stop her. They didn’t talk much for the rest of the way. She seemed to be mad at him a bit. Oops. 

When the blacked out teapot came into view, Karkat stopped. 

“What are you doing, Karkitty?”

“Thinking, shut up.”

Nepeta, thankfully, shuts up. 

“Okay. So, what do we know about the inside? Where is the leader going to be, when do the guards on the spout and lid change? Where is the door, and how do we best sneak up on it? What was your strategy?” 

“I told you,” she groaned. “Our plan was to just walk up and fight them!”

“But that was with Equius,” he argued. “I’m not Equius, Nepeta. It pains deep in my blood pusher to say this, but I am no as ‘STRONG’ as he is! We need to change the plan. Now, tell me what the inside of this fucking sugar-drink leaf-juice hell looks like.”

“Tea isn’t just leaf-juice,” she pouts. “And I don’t know what it looks like inside! We never needed to find out because Equius and I could just break the door down and take them.”

Karkat suppressed the urge to groan and face plant into the sugar. 

“Okay, Nepeta, that isn’t going to fucking work. Not with just the two of us.”

“But how else are we supposed to take down the base,” she glares. 

“I don’t know! Some more information would be helpful right around now.”

“Okay, okay…um… I think Pounce said it was just a small but important guard paw-st because it is a stop for the imps to prowl around more fur-ly. It’s more like communication/rest center.”

“Oh. Okay, that makes this easier,” Karkat starts thinking out loud. “I’ve taken down a few of those before and they weren’t as heavily guard as a really out-post or base, thank fuck. There even is a time when they have a mandatory meeting, and everything is just guarded by their cameras like the stupid fuckers they are. Sollux developed a virus I can activate remotely to blind the cameras to us without altering the poor fucker watching them.”

As he spoke, he opened he summoned his walking husktop (he didn’t think about making it easier to carry alright?!?!? Not everyone is as cool as the fuckers with glasses!) and opened the virus.

“Once we’re in,” he continued. “They should all be in one spot. We’ll need to take out the security guard before we take out however many are gathering in the meeting area. Speaking of, do you at least know the layout of this dumb fuck facilities?” 

“Uh,” Nepeta answers. “No really… I know the paw-ttom floor is very large and has lots of tables in it so maybe that’s the meeting area? Equius and I never had to go up father than that.”

“…fuck you and your fuckass of a moirail for your extremely poor planning skills.”

“I’m sorry alright! We never needed to do plan much! They were just to easy to take down!”

“Fuck. You,” Karkat growls at her before turning back towards the teapot and pulling out a spyglass that he *may* have stolen from Eridan at some point. It was stronger than the puny little things the imps used, and it was a great tool for staying out of their range of sight while still being able to see them. Besides, Eridan had quite a few others. Karkat set it up and scanned the base of the teapot. The double doors appeared to be directly under the spout that the imps were using as a watchtower. The easiest way in that didn’t involve going through said doors was to go up through a window in the handle on the other side. 

That would pose to be a problem. One person would have to barricade the doors from the outside so that the imps don’t escape while the other dealt with the security and anything that might come up before the one dealing with the doors could come around and join in. Karkat and Nepeta would have to be separated for an unknown amount of time hoping that the other didn’t get killed. If one died, then the other was pretty much fucked sideways with a sharp teaspoon used by a giant. Great.

“Okay, so here’s the new and much better plan. I’m going to use the grappling hook spider thing I got from Vriska to break the window and climb up into the handle. From there, I’m going to start looking for the security guard to take him out. You, nepeta are going to find some way to block the door so that those stupid fucking imps can’t get out and get even bigger and stupider imps for help. Then, after you block the door, you are going to move your ass as fast as possible over to the rope and wait for me to call you before climbing up so we can take out the remaining imps together like the well organized and skilled killing machines we are. But you have to wait for me to call you alright? Don’t come up unless I do and if the Imps break out of the blockade, you run. Got it?”

“Yeah, except I’m not going to just leave mew in there,” she glares. If I don’t hear the signal in fifteen minutes, I’m going up anyways.”

“No, you are not.”

“Yes.”

“No”

Yes”

No! That is final. I’d rather deal with the imps than with a pissed off Equius, got it? 

She just glares, crossing her arms and hunching her shoulders up to her ears, and he isn’t sure if he’s won or not. He hopes so. He would much rather deal with an angry cat girl than and angry blue-blooded moirail.

“Okay,” he says, turning back towards the three-legged telescope. “When I say they’re gone, we both run for it.”

“And until then, oh great warrior leader,” She mocks. Yep, she is really mad at him right now. 

“We wait, genius,” he answers. She’ll get over it eventually. 

It takes a while. A very long while. Nepeta gets the board in a few minutes and starts talking to someone over Trollian before she gets out some paints and a paper to draw. Karkat tries to stay on scout duty it but wow, this is horrid. He back starts hurting and Nepeta’s planet is so much brighter than his or Gamzee’s. He wouldn’t notice it at first but all the white from the sugar doesn’t help keep things dark and the clouds or tents on the planets he frequents the most. Finally, he asks Nepeta to take a turn just so he can sit down and close his eyes for a while. She doesn’t last nearly as long as he does before they switch again, but that’s a hollow comfort when his body starts protesting sooner than before. 

Finally, thank fuck, the Imps leave the tower, and no one comes to replace them.

“Nepeta, pocket the scope,” he orders while he dives over to his Crab-top to activate the bug. “Get ready to run on my mark.”

Three.

Two

“Now, go!” They both start sprinting, leaving Karkat’s crab-top behind. While he runs Karkat pulls out the thin chain device with a blue, eight-legged spider on the end. He’s never used it before but it feels strong enough to break the glass and hold his weight. He also summons his sprite just in case something goes wrong. The Crab appears instantly and starts flying with him.

“What are we doing now, son?”

“We’re” breath. “Breaking into that… teapot. I need… you to guard…my entrance once the spider goes… though the glass… and to just… watch my back in… general. Ugh.”

“That’s stupid but alright son. Stay safe.”

“yeah, whatever… you, big lobster.”

“Hey now, careful.”

It was a longer distance than he thought. Fortunately, he caught was able to catch his breath once they reached the place to throw the hook. It took a few tries, and eventually, the sprite just took the spider from midair and threw it through himself. Once in Karkat began to climb while his Lusus- the sprite waited for him at the top. Apparently, he was better at climbing than running because he worked his way up with little difficulty. Once he had pulled himself up completely, there were two piles of grist signifying two dead imps waiting for him. The spider that served as the end of the hook has sunk its legs into the floor, which was probably why it was so easy to climb. It wasn’t jostling a loose piece of furnisher. 

However, the doors and the halls in general way all too small for Karkat’s sprite to go through. The crab elected to stay in the handle and wait for Nepeta. 

For the inside of a teapot in a magical land made of sugar, it was pretty creepy. It reminded Karkat of the labs he sometimes sees in his movies, walls blank and smooth with no one around and, except for that, they exist in the first place, no sign that anyone had been through these halls at all. Karkat’s footsteps made a dull echoing sound no matter how light he tried to walk and he found himself homing his breath anytime he approached a door to open. There also didn’t seem to be an order to how the place was carved out. The halls felt more like tunnels underground than passages in a building like they were supposed to be and after a while, Karkat was lost with no idea how to get back. He had rounded too many sharp corners and gone down and up to many stairs. Fortunately, he hadn’t found any imps. Unfortunately, he also hadn’t found the security room. His breathing was almost as loud as his footsteps and trying to calm it down only seemed to make it worst. His sickle felt too light in his hand, so he drew the other. The noise it made coming out didn’t help. The walls steadily felt too far apart and too small all at once. Karkat didn’t know how long he’d been walking and honestly, he was scared to find out. He was far too relieved when he opened a door to a room with a bunch of screens and imp in a rolling chair. So relieved that he actually sighed and opened the door too loud. The creature spins around and growled, launching itself at him from the chair after hitting one button on the panel in front of him. Oops, there goes the alarm, loud and obnoxious. 

The fight was quick at least, the imp leaped over the chair but landed then flat on its face in front of Karkat and he was able to deal a blow to the neck that took out over half its life. The creature swiped a massive claw out. Karkat jumped to the side, into the room. The creature tried to stand up. Karkat dealt a blow to its knees, and then another to the head. It exploded into grist with a shriek. Karkat took a deep breath before he heard the war cried of several more imps echoing over the sirens and through the halls. He took off running in what direction he hoped he came from.

He came across several more imps on the way, but they were all extremally low underlings that he was able to beat with a stroke. Well, at least he wasn’t alone anymore. Running put him out of breath fast, but he was able to find the light outside quicker than before. He just needed to keep going up. And up. And up. And up. And huh, de doesn’t remember going down this many stairs before. 

He burst up the last flight of stairs and looked around. He wasn’t in the glass room that made up the handle. He was on the little holder for the teapot lid. Alone. With the twenty to forty imps coming up the stairs in a rage. Oh boy. Karkat summoned his Lusus -sprite- thing and got ready to fight. It was a little bit of a challenge with how hard he was breathing from racing up the stairs. He faced the, now dark looking, hole in the floor and tried to ignore the sounds coming out of it by focusing on the stream of ‘oh shit’ his ever so helpful think pan is trying to distract him with. The stomping, hissing, growling, and roaring coming from the hole is winning out.

Welp. This sucks major ass.

Within seconds Karkat can see the shadows in the hole moving and he swings out on reflex. He’s lucky he did because the strike hits an imp hid flight to his throat. Blinds by fear and the need to survive, Karkat swung at a very moving thing. There were so many. Breathing was optional. Landing blows were not. Adrenaline numbed any feeling of pain they might have inflicted on Karkat. It took him a while to come back to himself and see that he was alone with piles of grist on top of the teapot. Alone, breathing hard, still scared, and surrounded by cherry red. 

The gentle breeze howled echoes and insults in his hears, and he thought of Eridan’s planet and his angels. The planet that had been warm just a few moments earlier seemed to have frozen despite the lack of water. Karkat noticed, as if standing outside his own body, that his grip in the sickles was turning painful. And that they were trembling. 

The illusion broke all at once and Karkat collapsed to his hands and knees to dry heave. Pain, already coming back like a dull ache becoming a sting in various places and the knowledge of just how close that had been. Just a few more imps or if this was a slightly bigger base, he would have died. Everything, all the precautions, and all the lies would have been worthless. He just massacred the enemy and save his own life. Why was he sick to the stomach? He did what he needed to do and had done what was expected for any troll. He should be feeling victorious. He dry heaved for the last time and was grateful Gamzee had accidentally set the food preparation block on fire this evening, preventing either of them from getting any dinner. 

“Holy shit,” said a voice and Karkat was inclined to agree. “Karkitty, are you okay?”

What?

Nepeta?

Oh. Oh, FUCK!

He can’t fight her like this. He can’t at all right now. He can’t fight her even if he could.

Karkat nods and huddles in on himself, trying to hide most of the cuts. He hears the grit getting picked up but doesn’t move. It’s hard to track her movements. In fact, he doesn’t hear or feel her getting close until she speaks again.

“Karkitty, can you stand?”

“HOLY,” he jumps away from her and regrets it instantly. He’s exposed now. She can see the striking lack of any other color besides the cherry red he shares with imps. And he can see that she knows now too. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing here, I told you to wait for my signal!”

“You were in trouble,” she argues. “And your sprite said I could come to help you since he can’t fit in the building beyond the handle. I thought that counted!”

“No, no it does not fucking count! Because. He is not. ME! “

“I don’t see what the paw-blem is! I helped, we took down the base, and we’re both okay! Why are you acting like a big wriggler?”

“Because-,” Karkat cuts himself off and glares. There is no way she doesn’t see it. There is no way anyone can be that oblivious, even the odd cat role-player. Nepeta is smarter than that. She’s a hunter for Gog’s sake! She answers when he’s been silent for too long

“Is it because of your blood,” she asked softly, with a stupid little tilt of her head like she really is a cat. Karkat even forces himself to look at her any longer, much less move any part o his body to reply. “Karkitty, I’m going to tell you what I’ve always told Equ-kitty. The hemoscale, as a system for society, is STUPID! I don’t care what color you are because it doesn’t matter unless you let it matter! Even I know that, so mew must know that too. Stop acting like a squeak-beast, you’re a troll!” Karkat stares at her. He’s never heard her talk like that to anyone, let alone him. “Now, I’m going to ask again. Can you stand up and walk?” Karkat nods. Nepeta may be sweet and very ridiculous but she is also Equius’s moirail and used to kill things for a living. It’s not a lesson he’s going to soon forget. 

“Good,” She sounds closer to normal now. “Then we can get back to my own base, so you can get cleaned up for when the other two boys get back. Deal?”

“Deal,” Karkat says because he needs to say something, or else things are going to be uncomfortable later. Fuck it, it was uncomfortable now but hey, he can put terror for his life on the back burner and deal with it another time. Right? Right. 

The walk down was considerably less scary when someone is with his mad with nepeta leading he didn’t have to fear her attacking from behind. He knows she did that on purpose so he would be less stressed. She was showing him a lot of trust to turn her back to him while he was still armed, scared, with his biggest cull worthy secret out for her to see. He could easily kill her right now. She must have really meant what she said about his color and the Hemospectrum.

Now that he was less terrified and cornered by enemies, he could feel the sting of various cuts on his arms and torso. All of them felt like a simple band-aid should cover them enough, save one cut on his leg that was now causing him to favor it a little bit. He was going to have to take some alchemized pain pills or risk being a liability to the others.

The sprites were nowhere to be found when they reached the handle and shimmied down the rope. They were still silent as they freed the spider. Karkat never liked the quiet. He didn’t like not speaking and while he wanted Nepeta to speak again he was realizing she wasn’t going too until he did. Damn the flush crush making her take pity on him! He didn’t want her pity! She deserved someone that wouldn’t come between her and her moirail, who wasn’t cull-bait, and who wasn’t going to put her in danger. He deserved someone that didn’t pity him just for his blood! Not that she did, but that leads back to the sweaty dude who followed her around.

“Nepeta,” he started, the stopped because what was he supposed to say next?

“Yes, Karkitty?”

“…How did you know I was in trouble?” Fuck, that wasn’t where he wanted to go at all.

“Well, you were in the teapot for a long time. I finished my task fairly easily thanks to Pounce and I went to the handle to wait. Then we heard the alarm and your Lusus said it was okay for me to climb up, so I did. Then heard all the imps headed in one direction so I follow behind and killed any who noticed me. When we got to the stairs, I had to fight my way up and I found mew!” Okay, that makes sense. 

“Oh. Okay…” great now how is he supposed to lead the conversation back to where he wants it.

“Karkitty,” she gets his attention by turning to him for the first time.

“What?”

“I won’t tell.” She smiles. 

He believes her. 


	6. Kanaya

Kanaya was proud to say she was one of the few trolls that Karkat trusted enough to tell his color without the drama of finding out by accident. 

As the Sylph of Space, it was her job to breed the frogs that would form the new universe. The first part she could handle well enough on her own. There were enough frogs around that a second person was not required. However, due to prophecy and game tradition, she did have to inform Karkat that she would need his help as the frogs she needed decreased in number and grew in stealth. He was grouchy about it but said that he would come when he found some other asshole to watch Gamzee for him after betraying Jack and defeating the Black Queen. She was not pleased when she found out he planned to take her down on his own with only Jack for backup and forced him to promise to message her after the fight. He agreed after much swearing. 

carcinoGeneticist [CG]  began trolling grimAuxiliatrix [GA]

CG: THE BLACK BITCH IS GONE

CG: WE JUST BANISHED HER BECAUSE JACK DIDN’T KILL HER LIKE HE WAS SUPPOSED TO

CG: THEN I BANISHED JACK 

CG: DAMN, THAT WAS A LONG BATTLE. 

CG: LIKE, LONGER THAN GAMZEE’S HORNS LONG

CG: ANYWAY, WHAT IM TRYING TO SAY IS

CG: IM FINE AND IM GOING TO COME BY TO THROW THE RING INTO YOUR VOLCANO.

GA: That Is Fine

GA: Thank You For Telling Me

GA: Afterward, I Think I Will Need Your Help With The Frogs

GA: I Am Nearing The Time When It Is A Bit

GA: Tedious For One Peron To Catch Them All

CG: WHATEVER

CG: IM GOING TO WARN YOU NOW 

CG: I GOING TO BE A PRETTY FUCKING OUT OF IT FOR A WHILE LONGER

CG: LIKE, MAYBE NOT SPACING OUT LIKE SOME PANROTTED FOOL WE KNOW

CG: BUT IM NOT GOING TO BE AS FAST OR REACT LIKE NORMAL

GA: Do Not Worry

GA: I Fully Intend To Make You Rest Before Helping Me

GA: As A Favor To Both Of Us

CG: UH

CG: KANAYA THAT SOUNDS QUITE A FUCKING BIT LIKE A…

GA: Oh

GA: Forgive Me For That

GA: I Can Assure You I Am Not Making A Pale Declaration

GA: After My Last Moiraillegiance Disaster I Do No Feel Ready For Another Relationship At The Moment

CG: IT’S FINE.

CG: DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT

CG: I’M JUST MAKING MORE OF AN ASS OF MYSELF THAT USUAL JUST BECAUSE OF HOW FUCKING TIRED I AM.

CG: I KNEW YOU WOULDN’T BE TRYING ANYTHING AFTER THE VRISKA SHIT STORM, THAT IS ANYTHING HAVING TO DO WITH VRISKA FUCKING SERKET.

CG: AND YET I CUULD’T STOP MYSELF FROM MAKING THINGS UNCOMFORTABLE FOR BOTH OF US BY IMPLYING SHIT I FUCKING KNEW WASN’T A THING YOU WOULD BE TRYING TO DO

CG: I MUST BE MORE EXHAUSTED THAN I THOUGHT

CG: AND HUNGRY

CG: YOU BETTER HAVE FOOD IN YOUR HIVE WHEN I GET THERE

CG: BE THERE SOON

GA: See You Soon Karkat

grimAuxiliatrix [GA] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG]

Kanaya knows she has some grub-loaf and grub-sauce in her hive so she takes her time hopping from island to island so as not to fall into the water or get caught in the light beams. They won’t harm her, but they are unpleasant and rather hard to get out of. She is in no rush as she will probably make it back before Karkat arrives and even if she does not, Karkat has no problem helping himself to any food he finds. The frogs she has currently will take some time to develop to the proper age so she has time. 

When Kanaya arrives, she finds the meal preparation block empty and the food untouched. Carefully, she makes several sandwiches and cuts them diagonally. She then places them neatly on a plate and sets out two cups. She doesn’t pour anything out because it might be warm by the time Karkat arrives and it's much better cold. She then tried to clean up the food preparation block a bit. It is nowhere near as messy as her room because she keeps the rooms her guests are most likely to see very orderly, but there is always something to be done around the hive, even if it takes a little finding. Eventually, she has to eat some of her own and put the rest in the thermal hull. 

Kanaya is vacuuming furniture for dust or hair when Karkat throws open the front door and steps in. The door doesn’t bounce back to hit him in the face like it normally would, so it must not have been opened with the regular force he puts into each task. He is slouching more than normal and the scowled he likes to keep on his face is fragile at best. He doesn’t say anything to her, just sort of waves in her direction, before retreating toward the meal preparation block. Kanaya had turned the vacuum off as soon as she heard the door, but the greeting had died when she saw how worn he looked. It stayed dead when she caught the smell of blood. She followed him into the meal preparation block.

“Karkat,” He holds up his hand to stop her as he pulls out his sandwiches, leans against the counter, and starts eating like doing so will win the game. She takes her remaining sandwiches and eats a bit every now and again as she pours out the drinks. Karkat takes his cup and downs it in one go. She refills it.

They finish eating in silence. She finishes first and starts to watch him as discreetly as possible while washing the few dishes. He’s looking better as he eats, but the smell of injury is still rather strong, hanging around his arms and shoulders. He holds them stiffly even as he eats, movements calculated out so that they are not moved unless necessary. He holds his breath when he moves, clenches his jaw, but doesn’t show anything on his face all. The scowl is firmly back in place. 

“Karkat, are you hurt,” She figured it was better to phase it like a question than a statement. No point in making him jumpier than already he is. Yet. He doesn’t answer right away, just turns and stares at her for a long moment. It almost makes her squirm in the most unladylike fashion. She doesn’t know if he finds what he’s looking for before he just nods and looks away.

“It’s nothing to worry about, but yeah. Jack stabbed me as a final ‘fuck you’ before I sent him after the Black Bitch,” He answers into the sandwich. She doesn’t comment on his manners because that would only eat in a more impolite manner.

“Have you treated it?” The words are out before she thought them through. She doesn’t want to enter in with another moirail any time soon and Karkat has always been sensitive about the color of his blood. He’s looking at her again, but its more of a ‘Maryam, what the hell’ than the unreadable stare from before. 

“Sort of. Why do you ask?” It’s said so carefully. He doesn’t want to imply anything this time.

“Well, there are some medical items I keep upstairs. If you wish, you can go and take care of it before resting.” There, awkwardness averted from becoming even more awkward.

“Right. Thanks,” He sets the empty plate down by the sink she’s still standing by before leaving, still far too stiff in the shoulders, and stomping up the stairs. He almost manages to slam the door with the normal vigor and Kanaya can’t help but smile. 

It’s sometime later after she finishes the dishes and mid-novel that she hears the door upstairs open. Instead of crossing the hall to her guess respite block, however, he comes back downstairs. She frowns at him but he pretends not to notice, sitting in a chair nearby with his own book. He opens it and continues to ignore her, forcing her to face a conundrum. She said she would force him to rest. She said she doesn’t want a moirail right now and she doesn’t want to flirt with him and he doesn’t want to flirt with her. He is hurt and it's the time of day most trolls are in ‘coon by. Saying anything about any of this would cause him to win the dare. She yawns.

“Well, it has been lovely to sit with you Karkat, but I’m heading off to my ‘coon now. Would you like to join me in?” He looks up at her now, but there is a distinct look of mischievousness in it along with a very slight smirk and some mortification.

“Can you repeat the question Maryam? Because it sounded awful like you just asked me to join you in your ‘coon.”

Oh.

Fuck.

“N-no, that is not what I meant. My apologies, I was just asking if you wanted to get some rest. Most trolls are nocturnal and would be in their coons by now, and I had said that I would make sure you rested so I was just trying to complete that promise. I had not meant to phrase it like that, or in any way that would imply anything which is why I stood up, to begin with” Kanaya stops suddenly, cheeks probably deeply green as she starts to ramble.

He is still watching her but is it wasn’t as amusing as it had been. In fact, it felt much like the stare he had given her in the kitchen earlier when she had asked if he was hurt. I sort of questioning stare, and it didn’t fit the mood she would have expected of him after that little verbal slip up. It almost looked like he was trying to decide on something. 

“Hey, Kanaya, can you sit down for a moment,” he asks and something in his tone and the way it wasn’t an order caught her off guard enough to obey without properly answering. He put down his book. “How long do you think we have left on this frog breeding thing?”

“Oh, well, I’ve already completed the easy bits so about half to a third of a perigee,” She answers. He winces and seems to think a bit more before answering.

“Okay, that is going to take way to fucking long and we will need to find a way to speed that up -wait, I’m not finished- but since we might be at this for a long time anyways, and we will have to fight those fucking imps the whole way, I have to tell you something because just telling you will probably be a lot better than you finding out while fighting for our lives,” he pauses to take a breath. For some reason, he is looking at Kanaya with something almost like fear. She doesn’t like it. She doesn’t like it all. “Okay. So, this is not something I am comfortable with you sharing, or even knowing for that matter, but you are the sanest out of all of us so I guess it should be fine.” Kanaya doesn’t miss how he says ‘guess’ like he means ‘hope’. He takes a deep breath, looks her right in the eyes, and bites the bullet. “I’m a mutant. I have cherry red blood, the same as the imps, which is why my sign and text are in grey.” He holds his breath. She stares.

“Ah…” How in the double moons is she supposed to reply to that? It’s okay? Alright? Can I see it? Is she supposed to laugh, be concerned, or freak out? 

Cull him?

“Uh… Kanaya? You… Do you want to say something,” He asks, eyes darting from her to the floor, to her hands, and to the door. Oh, shit she’s making him nervous. 

“I’m… fine Karkat,” Wait that wasn’t the question was it? Damnit. “I am just surprised. Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything. I’m… just not sure how to respond.”

“Oh, yeah okay. Take your time,” He looks more relaxed now, or at least he’s trying too for her sake. It’s quiet for a long moment. 

“Alright,” She starts again. “So, I guess my first question is how many of the others know?”

“Aradia, Sollux, Tavros, Nepeta, Gamzee, and maybe Terezi” He answers. “Most of them, with the exception of Gamzee and possibly Terezi because she’s too smart for her own good, found out through me bleeding in front of them. I didn’t exactly tell the fuckers.”

“Alright, and you already told me that you don’t want me to just find out by accident while fighting, so the next question is that if you need help beyond my talents, can I call one of those whom you’ve named or Feferi?”

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t really know how helpful Gamzee and Aradia would be as Gamzee is so pan-fucked all the time and Aradia is a robot but sure. And only call Feferi of it’s the only option left.”

“Thank you,” Kanaya tries to smile at him and finds it easier than she thought. “The last question, if you are comfortable with doing so, is if I may see it.”

“It’s just like the blood the imps have,” he answers, not looking at her. “I… really don’t like bleeding in front of people but… if you want to look there are some of the old bandages I had on when I got here that I haven’t thrown out yet. You can look at those if it satisfies your morbid curiosity, but I am so not bleeding myself on purpose.” He sounds more confident in the end, even looking up from the floor to glare. She smiled without prompting this time.

“Alright. Thank you for sharing for with me.” She stands and keeps smiling. He seems to take a deep breath tension bleeding away for the first time. It's not got completely but its considerably less noticeable and she smiles wider.

“Yeah, whatever,” He stands with her. “Let's just go to sleep, okay?”

“Alright, Karkat.”

She follows him up the stairs, hands deep in the pockets of his pants and still slouching but he’s less aggressive. He says good morning at the top and heads into his borrowed respite block. She says in the hall for a moment.

She is not as tired as she could be. He friends are from the other side of the planet so when the sun is up on her side and they are up with the moons on the other, so she normally is sleep when they are, but she didn’t just come to from a massive battle like Karkat and she is really curious... Quietly she turns towards the door where she keeps the healing kit. The door opens easily. Everything is thrown about and only mostly put away. She will clean that up later for the sake of sanitation but what really draws her is the bandages in the trash basket. The color isn’t showing from her angle, but a few steps closer allows her to take a peak. The bandages have curled around in the bottom like a serpent waiting to pounce on a victim. The bright, bright color Kanaya always thought was beautiful stares out at her, daring her to come closer. She holds her breath and almost expects to hear a hiss or a rattle from the basket. She blinks, and the serpent is gone. Her stomach clenches, and she turns around to leave the heavy color behind her along with any pity she might have. The weight of the trust and courage Karkat had to have to even consider coming forward with this keeps Kanaya from drawing another breath for a long time.


	7. Terezi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your skin needs to be thicker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter. I figured that since we got a reveal in canon for Terezi, I would write what event she implied happened that let her smell out the color under his skin.  
> Enjoy!

When Terezi found out, she must not have let on that she knew. Of course, she would have understood Karkat’s secrecy about it, and all the offense when it was mentioned, but somehow the fact that she didn’t tell him the right away that she knew something so precious felt like an unspoken threat. She had, for a long time, held the ultimate weapon against and over him without him even knowing. That, and that fact that he had let her get that close to begin with thinking that maybe she could be something more. It just sucks to realize she’s smarter than him and not afraid to use it against him the slightest bit.

One of the greatest appeals of the Game was to get to meet his friends that were too far away in person. The one and only time Karkat acted as referee in a FLARP session was also the one and only time he actually got to meet some other trolls that were not in his immediate circle face to face. Unfortunately, Terezi was too busy trying to handle Vriska and winning the game to actually talk to him much. It was irritating but it couldn’t be helped. Besides, when Vriska chucked Tavros off that cliff he was a bit distracted as well.

So, when Karkat asked her to meet up with him once she entered, he was happy she jumped on the invitation. And though nothing can be confirmed, he might have even smiled. They decided on his planet because they had both seen at least part of it. He was still within sight of his hive, trying to fight imps with Jack so they could asses each other’s skills and get to know each other better (read, see just how willing the other is to use foul play) when the pinging sound went off on his walking husktop. He had made sure to modify it so that it took voice commands and could read off what the other person had said. It also let him reply remotely. Suck on that Captor. 

gallowsCalibrator [GC]> began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG]

GC: 4LR1THT 1M H3R3

GC: 1 L4ND3D ON YOUR H1V3 SO 1 1LL JUST W41T 1NS1D3 FOR YOU

CG: I’M ON MY WAY 

CG: I JUST NEED TO CROSS THE RED FUCKING LIQUID THAT COVERS MY SORRY EXCUSE FOR A PLANET THAT IS SUPPOSED TO HOST SENTIENT LIFE.

CG: I CAN NOT WALK ANYWHERE WITHOUT HAVING TO MANEUVER MY WAY THROUGH THE BUILDINGS WITH THE FORCES OF EVIL

CG: EAGERLY AWAITING TO EAT MY FUCING EYES

CG: OR WADING THROUGH THE RED PISS THAT SERVES AS WATER ON THIS FORGOTTEN CORNER OF HELL.

CG: LONG STORY SHORT, THE VERY EXISTENCE OF MY PLANET IS ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT.

GC: K4RK4T DON’T 1NSULT TH3 BE4UT1FUL CH3RRY OF YOUR PL4N3T

CG: 1T SM3LLS D3L1C1OUS >:]

CG: WHATEVER. 

CG: IM TRYING TO WORK MY WAY TO YOU SO ILL BE THERE SOON

CG: PLEASE DON’T LEAVE SULIVA ON ALL MY SHIT.

GC: 1S TH4T ST4B H4PPY F3LLOW W1TH YOU

CG: YEAH, WHY?

GC: C4N H3 W41T OUTS1D3? 1 DON’T L1K3 H1M

CG: JACK IS COOL

CG: I MEAN, YEAH, HE STABBED ME ONCE, BUT I DOUBT HE’LL DO IT AGAIN

CG: BUT

CG: I GUESS IT COULD BE AWKWARD WITH HIM THERE SO I’LL ASK

CG: NO PROMISES THOUGH. IM NOT GOING TO FORCE OUR NEW AND ONLY ALLY TO DO ANYTHING.

GC: >:]

GC: 4LR1GHT TH4TS F1N3

GC: S33 YOU SOON

CG: SEE YOU SOON

gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG]

The fighting actually gets easier the closer to the water (red insulting bullshit liquid) because apparently, the Pulse (the word for it on this planet) is bad news. Jack doesn’t seem to like it either because he stays on the beaches and hops from plate to plate with the Crab-top. Karkat only wades though when the imps look like they are considering attacking. According to Jack, it's unnerving to see a Hero wading through the ocean of their (shared) blood. Karkat just grins up at them with his sickles out. They back off. He walks slightly more confidently. Fuck yeah, he’s the king of awesome and badass.

His shoes are well and truly ruined when he gets to his hive so he kicks them off, along with his socks and stashes them in sylladex. He can make a better pair later. He also rolls up his pants a little bit after ringing them out, so they won’t drip on his floor. Not that it really matters but the less red that some future version of him finds laying around to panic about the better. Uh, when he thinks about it like that, it’s almost reason enough to let it drip out. And ss for Terezi, any red she smells on him he can easily pass off as part of the messed up water on the even more messed up planet. Now for the hard part.  
“Hey Jack,” he starts. “One of my friends is in my hive right now and for some odd fucking reason, she doesn’t trust… new people.”

“So what?”

“So… She doesn’t know you. You’re new to her.”

“So what?”

“So, she doesn’t like you! You can contact your inside person or stab some imps or what the fuck ever. Just stay out here!”

“Fine.”

Wow, this guy is annoying. But at least he’s cooperative, which is more then he can say about some of his own teammates (looking at you Vriska). Karkat leaves Jack to his edgy side lean against the hive to head in and meet Terezi one on one for the first time.

She’s licking the thermal hull (Just licking the outside. There is nothing on it. She isn’t looking for food. What the fuck?) when he came in and he can’t help but see the suspicions looking teal shine on some of his pictures and counters. Gross. That’s going to be fun to explain to a Lusus – sprite- that can talk. 

“Fuck you, Pyrope,” is how he makes his presence known to her. “I asked you not to do one thing and I walk in to find you doing exactly what I ordered you not to do. Fuck. You. Do you have any idea how hard this shit will be to explain? Or worse, how hard any of this will be to clean up!”

“Yes, I do,” she grins, not even jumping the way he was hoping. Damnit, she probably heard or smelt him entering. “Well, I understand the second one at least.” 

That’s all the warning he gets before she launches herself off the thermal hull and around him. He manages to catch them before they fall, but it’s close. His hands instinctively wrapped around her.

“FUCK,” he shouts. She laughs into his neck and wow, yep her considerably sharper mid-blood teeth are right by his very vulnerable and open throat. There goes all the joy from hugging his crush (what quadrant is up for debate). If she wanted to kill him, she would have the perfect shot right now. Thankfully, she pulls away and he can start breathing again. She’s grinning like some sort of crazy bitch. She is a crazy bitch though, so it works somehow.

“Wow Karkles,” she laughs. “You’re just as small and loud as I remember.”

“Fuck you,” Karkat says instead of some witty remark. He's still trying to get his brain to stop thinking he needs to either run or draw his weapons.

“And angry,” she laughs again.

He crosses his arms and glares at her, then remembers she can’t see it.

“I’m glaring at you, you fucking weirdo.”

“Hehehehehehehe, I know you moron,” She chuckles then pats his head, earning a growl. “You’re always glaring and growling at something.”

“ANYWAY,” he tries to change the subject. “The Land of Pulse and Haze has really bright red water for some fucked up reason. I’m going to assume you saw -excuse me SMELLED- it on your way in and now want to go exploring with me.”

“Actually, I want to get back to my own planet soon but if you need me here,” she inches closer and draws out the word need. “Then I guess I can take the time out of my super busy questing and held a hand so a gentle-troll such as yourself.” Karkat’s pride flares up like an angry beast ready to fight for all its worth, but at the same time, he realizes she could be useful in dealing with Jack. And… He still wants to hang out with her. Damnit.

“A hundred times, fuck you,” he says instead. “But, I was wondering if you wanted to meet Jack so we can determine how he’ll most likely respond to shit that might come up.”

“Hm? Why do you think I can do that?”

“Because part of my planet’s quest is for me to learn a bit about how each player works and you’re the only one that matches the description of the Mind player. At least I hope it’s you because the only other option is Serket and fuck her with a stop post.” 

“Oh, well then I’ll be happy to help interrogate the suspect!”

“No Terezi, Jacks an ally, not a suspect.”

“I think I should be the judge of that, Mr. Threshecutioner! Now let’s go lay down the law of your Land!” She starts to run around him and out of the block. He runs after her, to explain her to Jack. And to explain Jack to her.

Later, when Terezi confronts him about knowing his little red secret via Trollian, this is the only instance where he can say she was defiantly close enough to smell the blood under his skin.


	8. Vriska

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little fairy, little bug, mind the rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate Vriska and she was a bitch to write, but I tried to get her as accurate as possible for those who do like her.  
> I hope you enjoy.

Vriska wouldn’t say her rise to god tier was glorious. She was beaten silly by an angry robot with the soul of a dead girl possessing it before bleeding to death slowly because a certain brown blood was a coward who refused to finish the job. It was a fucking ridiculous and pathetic death that was hardly worth mentioning. What it gave her though was more luck than she had ever had before, so it wasn’t a total waste at least. Besides, no one ELSE was god tier yet! She was easily the most powerful player that had now! Not that she really knew how to control it, but she HAD it, which was more than anyone else could say.

arachnidsGrip [AG] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG]

AG: hey 8rave leader

AG: guess what

AG: go on, gueeeeeeees

CG: FUCK YOU

CG: I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS SERKET

CG: COME BACK WHEN IT’S MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR FUCKING EGO, SPIDER-BITCH

AG: it is!!!!!!!!

AG: I think you’ll find that what I have to say is mission critical.

AG: ::::)

CG: UGH.

CG: FINE, MAKE IT QUICK.

CG: I HAVE OTHER THINGS I WOULD MUCH RATHER BE DOING THAN TALKING TO A SPIDER OBSESSED PSYCHOPATH

AG: fineeeeeeee

AG: iiiiiiii

AG: went god tier

AG: ::::D

CG: NO, YOU DIDN’T

AG: I did!!!!!!!!

AG: Megido must have gotten some of her emotions 8ack when she merged with that stupid ro8ot

AG: and, I guess she was less ‘0kay’ with me killing her 8ecasue she came and 8eat the literal living shit out of me.

AG: 8ut if you don’t 8elieve me

AG: ask Tavros. The coward was there too and saw the whoooooooole thing.

CG: I AM

CG: FUCK, HE CONFIRMS YOUR STORY

CG: HE SAYS ARADIA DID ACTUALLY BEAT YOU TO HELL

CG: AND THAT HE HAD TO TAKE YOU TO YOUR QUEST-COON

AG: 8ed

CG: WHAT

AG: quest 8ed Karkat

AG: that’s what the game calls it

CG: FUCK YOU AND FUCK THE GAME

CG: IT’S A QUEST-COON AND IM NOT GOING TO STOP CALLING IT THAT

CG: ANYWAY

CG: TAVROS DIDN’T SEE YOU DIE ON IT. WHICH I’M TOLD IS THE FUCKING KEY TO THE WHOLE GOD TIER THING

CG: AND SINCE TAVROS SEEMS PRETTY UPSET ABOUT IT

CG: AND THAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY MESSAGING ME

CG: YOU DID NOT, IN FACT, DIE AND ARE TRYING TO GET ONE LAST HURRAY OUT OF ME BEFORE YOU KNEEL OVER

CG: HAHAHA SERKET

CG: YOU CAN DIE IN PIECES NOW.

CG: MANY, MANY PIECES

AG: I did 8ie!!!!!!!!!

AG; I’m NOT lying

AG: Why does everyone always assume I’m lying????????

CG: BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT YOU DO

CG: YOU LIE ALL THE FUCKING TIME

CG: AND I KNOW I WOULD NOT BE THE FIRST PERSON YOU CONTACT IF YOU DID GO GOD TIER

CG: YOU’D TELL TAVROS TO GLOAT OR MAKE HIM FEEL BAD OR SOME SHIT

CG: OR YOU’D TELL TEREZI AND TRY TO GET HER TO JOIN YOU IN WRECKING HAVOC AGAIN

AG: did you ever take into consd8tion that maybe I WANT to win the 8ame

AG: May8e I WANT to cre8 a new worl8 and start over????????

AG: that may8e I’m trying to 8e a 8etter fucking 8erson!!!!!!!!

CG: WHAT HAVE YOU EVER DONE TO PROVE THAT, SERKET?

CG: SERIOUSLY, I’LL WAIT

CG: NAME ONE INSTANCE WHEN YOU DECIDED TO NOT BE A TOTAL BITCH

AG: you don’t 8elieve me

AG: fine

AG: I guess I deserve it

AG: But I DID go God tier and I CAN prove that!!!!!!!

AG: where are you????????

AG: I’ll just fly over and show you

CG: OH, THIS WILL BE GOOD.

CG: I’M ON LORAF

AG: miss fussy fang’s planet?????????

AG: Why????????

CG: APPARENTLY ITS SOME FUCKED UP AND TIME-CONSUMING TRADITION FOR THE KNIGHT OF THE SESSION

CG: THAT’S ME BY THE WAY, HELLO

CG: TO HELP THE SPACE PLAYER WITH THE BREADING OF THE FROGS FOR THE NEW UNIVERSE

CG: SOMETHING ABOUT IT BEING MY JOB TO PROTECT IT OR WHATEVER

AG: sounds 8ooooooooring

CG: YOU WANTED TO KNOW, FUCKWIT.

AG: Whatever nu8s. I’m coming through

AG: See you in a sec. 

AG: ;;;;)

arachnidsGrip [AG] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG]

Honestly, it's so irritating that Karkat doesn’t believe her. Seriously, this is such a distraction from the more important things she could be doing! Like finding Megido. Not to fight her though, just too…thank her. Yeah, thank her. 

The second she flies through the portal, her wings are hit by big, wet, drops of rain that fall infrequently. Normally, if she was just walking, it wouldn’t be a big deal for how the drops fall with so much distance between each on but just a few on the membranes of her wings and they are out of commission. Unfortunately, she hadn’t stopped flying. Thank Feferi’s weird void monsters that the portal from her planet was closest to the ground and she only had to fall two stories. And that she was good at landing on her feet. That was helpful too. Still though, despite her skills, new and old, she landed hard on her ass anyway. 

“Thank fuck Karkat didn’t see that,” she mumbled, brushing the mud off her bright orange pants. Seconds of brushing later, it was like the mud was never there. Huh, so the clothes clean themselves. That’s dumb, it takes the fun out of getting dirty and giving the clothes to Kanaya to mess with and… fix. Mostly Kanaya just makes Vriska new clothes when she sends back a ruined set. They got nicer and nicer as time went on, to the point where Vriska wouldn’t wear them and had to take care of the clothes she hadn’t ruined. It was a pain. It was also a pain when Kanaya started wondering why she wasn’t sending any more clothes. 

People make no sense. 

“Karkat…Kaaaaaaarkat…Kaaaaaaaarkaaaaaaaat!!!!!!!!” She tried to call him, but he must not have been around the hive. She went inside to wait, sending him a quick message that she closed before he could reply. She wasn’t in the mood for more of his non-believing shit. 

Unlike her clothes, her wings didn’t clean themselves and having the water on them was uncomfortable. Fortunately, this was Fussy Fang’s hive and there was some cloth hiding in the most random places around. It was easy to find something to try to dry them off. Vriska found that rubbing them hurt like hell and patting them was far more effective. It didn’t dry as well without rubbing them, and it was frustrating how slow they dried, but there really wasn’t much else she could do. 

When she was bending around to reach a spot on the ends, she heard the door burst open, stomping, and suddenly a damp Karkat was standing in the door. Vriska stared (she’d never seen him in person before) and he stared back. Then he laughed, and she fought a blush.

“What” whiz, “the hell”, cough “are you doing?”

“What does it look like, dumbass! I’m trying to dry off!” She wasn’t whining. She WASN’T.

“It’s hardly raining out there, you entitled moron,” he chuckles cruelly.

“You try flying with such thin fucking wings in the rain you piece of shit,” she yelled back because seriously, fuck Vantas! That landing HURT and water is starting to be irritating and she just DIED! He hadn’t believed her and now he was LAUGHING at her. Fuck. Karkat. Vantas. Except he wasn’t laughing anymore. She tossed the rag to the ground and stood up. 

“Well, as you can plainly see, you doubting piece of hemo-anon shit, I am totally and fully god tier,” She glared, widening her stance to be bigger than him. It wasn’t hard, seriously the guy was puny and almost made Cat Girl look big. Keyword being almost. 

“Yeah, I saw you fly though actually,” he said, but something had changed. He was looking at her right in the eye and didn’t seem to be intimidated at all. It felt like he was seeing through her which was so far past okay that she had to work to keep up the glare. “Nice outfit. Kanaya would approve.”

“Thanks, it came with the death,” she looked away and crossed her arms. She didn’t know what to do. Karkat was harder to control and manipulate than Tavros. She had no idea what he was thinking. 

“Do you need me to call Kanaya,” he asked suddenly. 

“What, why would I want Miss Fussy Fangs now?” 

“Well, you did just die and you’re acting weird about small details.” He shrugged. She was pissed off again. Fuck him for being considerate after laughing. Fuck him for being good at the friendship business. Fuck him for knowing she’s acting weird and calling her on it! Fuck him for knowing how she normally acts in the first place! Fuck him for worrying about her! Fuck! Him! For! Thinking! She’s! Weak!

She growled. Her wings shook painfully. He jumped back. He didn’t jump far enough. 

Vriska’s claws had been aimed for his arms in an attempt to grab him, to shout, to force him to understand how sick his pity made her. She missed and didn’t catch him, but her claws caught his sweater. He drew his sickles, dropping to a defensive crouch. However, his eyes were on her claws, not her eye. She followed his line of sight and gasped, raising her claws in front of her face to see it better. It looks like her claws didn’t just catch his sweater. The tips were coated in cherry red blood that Terezi would have gone nuts for. It looked like imp blood too. But there were no imps here and she hadn’t fought any recently. From the way Karkat looked when he came in, he hadn’t either. The only conclusion was that Karkat is a mutant. 

A growl brought her eyes back to the troll whose blood she’d drawn. He looked like a cornered animal. There was no way he could beat her. But it didn’t look like that was going to stop him from trying. 

“What are you doing, Vantas,” she laughed at him. It felt good to do it back at him. “Are you going to attack me? Puny little thing like you? That wouldn’t be very smart of you now would it?” He took a shaking breath and backed up a step when she advanced. The fear sent was stronger the closer she got. She kept grinning and takes more steps. “I am the strongest player we’ve got, and I am the only reason we now stand a chance against the Black King!” She steps forward, he steps back. “You can’t kill me without dooming everyone.” One step forward, one step back. “You need me.” He trips on the couch, sitting down on instincts, weapons dropped, but not outside of his reach. “But we need all the help we can get so I can’t attack you either.” Now he looks surprised. She turns around and sits down on the other side of the room.

If she was being honest, her first instinct was to lash out and strike him down. He was wrong, and she was within her right to correct it, but now he was one of the few trolls still alive. And, if what he said about the Knight being around to get the new universe was important and he was needed to protect it (ha!) then she needed him to live. And she needed him to chill a bit because she did not want to deal with him trying to double cross her later. He is looking at her with anger (he’s Karkat, what would you expect), surprise, and distrust.

“What the fuck, Serket,” he growls. It’s kind of a pathetic sound, but it doesn’t sound like he is just doing it to get attention. He doesn’t seem to know he’s growling at all. He must still feel threatened. 

“Stop growling at me, Vantas, or I’ll call Makara,” She adds the last part with a grin. If he can threaten to call her moirail so can she.

“Gamzee is not my moirail, you blind fuck,” he hisses. But he’s blushing so she just grins wider.

“Whatever you say. And for the record, Terezi is the blind fuck, not me,” she purrs.

“Get to the point, Serket,” he snarls, reaching for his weapons on instinct. Okay, so maybe teasing him is not what she should be doing right now. 

“Alright, alright, geez,” she takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry for scaring you. I just didn’t want you attacking me.”

“Great job. I didn’t feel threatened and trapped by your little speech at all,” he hisses. 

“Will you shut up!? What I’m trying to say is that, yes, you can’t kill me if you want our species to survive, but I can’t kill you either, you dumbfuck. You’re needed to finish creating the universe and winning the game. We can use all the help we can get, including you and Nitram.” He is staring at her, but still holding his sickle tightly. She tries again. “Look. You’re annoying and I can’t stand you, but I meant what said about winning. I want to win, I want us to get out alive. Aaaaaaaall of us. And if you don’t believe that, then you can at least believe that you are important to Terezi, Captor, Miss Fussy Fangs, and Makara. I may have aaaaaaall the luck now, but I can’t fight all of them if I cull you.” 

He watches her for a second longer before his sickles disappear and he slouches back into the couch. He is still glaring at her, but she doesn’t think he ever stops glaring. 

“Whatever. You’re dismissed,” he says to the wall. She stands and walks towards the door. They were never close so that was the best she could expect. 

“And Serket,” he calls, not getting up and turning. She stops but doesn’t answer. “Tell anyone and I won’t hesitate again.” 

“Hahahahahahahaha, I’d like to see you try. Later loser!” She glides out the door. It’s not raining. Her wings are dry. Vriska flies away. 


	9. Equius

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strong heir, bring home our knight.

Karkat went with Equius to fight his denizen, on Equius’s request. Not that anyone doubted Equius could do it on his own, but at this point in the game, it felt sort of taboo to go on a mission alone and Equius didn’t want to put Nepeta or Gamzee in danger in case something went wrong. Of-fucking-course, in his hemophobic mania, he had no qualm with Karkat going because just from temperature he would tell Karkat was pretty low on the spectrum. And Aradia had turned him down rather violently. Karkat had laughed until Equius had said he would have to do. 

Of course, Equius’s intention to use Karkat as an expendable comrade got blown to hell and back when Gamzee decided to throw in a farewell.

“Hey, my hoofbeast brother,” Gamzee had called after them as he left with Nepeta, Aradia, and Jack walking with him. “Look after my little miracle bro, ‘kay?”

“Gamzee, what the fuck,” Karkat screeched in horror. That was too close to his secret for comfort, not to mention the quadrant implications of that request.

“Yes, Highblood,” Equius responded because it had sounded like an order (or as close to an order as Gamzee was capable of getting) and now Equius was sweating bullets- err, sweating bullets more so than before. Equius then marched off in the direction of the portal leaving Karkat to catch up, muttering curses under his breath.

“Must you be so foul-mouthed,” Equius asked after a moment of walking and falling through the portal. 

“Fuck you,” Karkat answered.

“I order you to be politer in my presence,” Equius tried.

“Fuck you with one of your broken robot arms! I am the leader here, you can’t tell me to do shit!”

“Yes.” He says before pausing for a moment and sweating more. Karkat cringed.

“Fuck! Alright, if I try not to swear as much will that stops you from sweating so fucking much?!”

“Yes,” he answers, pulling a towel out. “That should help some.”

“Fine, then I guess I won’t swear as much. Happy?”

“Not really.”

“I wasn’t being serious, da- darn it!”

“Hmm,” is all Equius answer and Karkat continues to mutter under his breath.

Karkat stops muttering as they walk, something in the Land of Caves and Silence forcing even his loud mouth to shut. Much like Equius, the place made him uncomfortable. Like Karkat’s land, Equius’s color was all over the place. Unlike Karkat’s planet, there was a heavy quiet to the place that not even Karkat felt comfortable breaking. Like the planet was old and breathing a breath after a revolution, or waiting in anticipation for something big to start. It felt like a calm before a storm. Even their footfalls felt loud as the climbed-up walls with caves and crossed blue dessert after blue dessert. If Equius was uncomfortable he didn’t show it and Karkat started to walk behind him to hide his nervousness. Equius’s planet was one of the three harsh ones for every troll. The first was taken by Eridan’s planet. Karkat’s was a problem for only him and didn’t make the cut. Everyone else thought his planet was badass. 

While they walked, Karkat tried to come up with ideas on how to hide his color best. Out of all the trolls Equius was one of the ones he never wanted to know his color; not with Equius’s devotion to the hemoscale and his strength. If Equius found out, he was among the most likely to cull Karkat because of his color and had the strength to do so. 

It was planed that Equius would do most of the fighting with the beast, and he probably didn’t need Karkat’s help, but if he did, he would have to be extra careful. Far much so than with some of the others. 

They walked on a good while longer before the biggest cave Karkat had ever seen thus far gaped before him. I looked like several dragons could fly through the entrance with ease. The most unnerving thing about the entrance was the breath of cool air coming from the cave without a sound, giving the impression that something massive was living inside it as silently as possible. Despite himself, Karkat shivered. He didn’t feel as bad about it when he noticed Equius was sweating again.

“Shit,” Karkat breathed. Equius didn’t say anything. Of course, Karkat had already fought his monster, but it had been easy and Karkat had never gotten the impression that it was something to be feared like with Equius’s. “Are you ready,” Karkat asked before he could stop himself. Equius only nodded. He didn’t move forward. “Alright,” Karkat said, trying to gather his courage before they both wimped out. “Let’s go.” It was a stupid choice, he knew, and a perfect way to fuck up his secret, but right at the second making something, anything, happen was more important. 

Karkat leads the charge into the layer, drawing his sickle’s as he walked. He heard Equius following because he heard him draw a bow, break it, and say ‘fiddlesticks.’ Suddenly Karkat didn’t feel as nervous because holy hell that was a lot funnier in person. The silence in the cave was somehow even more pressing than the one outside, the only thing that dared to move beside them was the cool breeze they followed deeper down. If anything, the cave got more spacious as they went. The pressure, the quiet, and space made Karkat feel even smaller than he normally did. 

He was still leading when they reached a chamber with many caves on all sides of the distant wall. And he was still leading when the beast shot out of one of the said caves and into him, sending him flying. Karkat only had a second to realize this before he suddenly was not flying but crashing against the thin wall between two caves. Something Karkat learned rather quickly was that the rocks in this place were a) easy to crumble with pressure and b) painful when broken by a troll body flying full speed. 

Dazed, concussed, and with blurry sight Karkat watched Equius grab the thing by its tail and swing into a wall in the opposite direction. It sprung back at Equius, Equius grabbed at its open jaw, and then Karkat had to close his eyes because wow did everything hurt. His ears rang loudly, though that might be the creature’s shrieks, and his back hurt. It felt warm despite the sting, but somehow that only made things worse. Karkat stayed like that, listening to the sound of the battle, with his eyes closed for longer than he would like to admit before he remembered he needed to breathe. He started forcing himself to breathe calmly and take note of everything. First, he could feel one of his sickles by his hand. Second, it didn’t seem like any of his bones where broken, though they were defiantly bruised. Third, when he opened his eyes, his vision was clearer than before. The battle was still going, but as expected, Equius was doing fine on his own. Fourth, and most importantly, his back was ripped up from the sharp, hard stones from where he had crashed. Moving hurt far more than it should and his he could feel blood soaking his sweater and making it stick to his back.

He was still struggling to move when he heard the battle stop. Frantically, he tried to get up faster, taking a new sweater out in hopes could at least put it on over the old one. He heard something moving down there and didn’t know what as a worse prospect; the beast coming to finish him off, or Equius coming to see if he was still live. A voice fixed the doubt, but he really wanted it to stop it moving towards him.

“Vantas, are you still live up there?”

“Fuck, Yeah, I’m fine. Stay down there, I’ll be there in a- hum- minute,” Karkat called down, trying not to let the pain slip into his voice. He didn’t succeed. 

“Are you certain? You sound like you are in pain.”

“I was chucked into a wall, Zahhak. Yes, I’m in pain. I’ll be down in a minute just OUCH, FUCK!” He got to a standing passion before he remembered he left his new sweater on the ground. When he bent over to pick it up he cut himself off and bit his tongue to keep back a whimper. He dropped to his knees and sat straight up in hopes that his back would stop stinging. It didn’t do much. The dirt in his wounds hurt more than any wound given by a weapon thus far. It took him a second oh holding himself as still as possible, fighting back whimpers that he started to understand he was still hearing rocks moving and the sound of harsh breaths. They were considerably closer than before. 

“Shit, I’m fine! Just stay where you are and wait a minute!”

“You are not fine. I can smell blood. Besides I am almost there. I just need one more STRONG pull and-” and suddenly Equius was on the ledge, standing behind Karkat, with a fantastic view of cherry blood. On instinct, like a fool, Karkat tossed his remaining weapon over his shoulder in the direction he heard Equius’s voice cut off. Seconds later she heard it clatter to the ground below them. The fight was over before it began and Karkat closed his eyes, not daring to turn around. 

“You are a mutant,” he heard Equius whisper. Karkat bit back any retort because this had to be a day-mare. Any second, he would wake up and it would be over. Except he knew this was not a dream and any second, he would hear heavy steps, so familiar after walking through the desert for so long and feel cold sweaty hands around in his neck. Karkat bit back more whimpers and closed his eyes tighter. The silence was far worse now then it had ever been. 

Then he heard footsteps, long and heavy against the stone, trotting towards him. He held his breath and pulled his chin to his chest in a last-ditch effort to save himself. 

He did feel cold fingers on his skin, but he gasped when they contacted his still burning back, ripping his sweater off. He sits straighter, unconsciously shying away, and looking over his shoulder. Equius was kneeling behind him, staring right at him through his cracked shades.

“Did I hurt you,” he asks after a too long pause. Karkat can only shake his head and look away again to try to steady his breathing against fear and pain. It was a chore. Cold, thick fingers touched his back again, ripping his sweater away from his skin and then even colder water poured down his back making him gasp and stretch away again.

“Hold still. I need to clean it,” Equius ordered. Karkat only nodded again, still trying to gather together his thoughts because this was not how Zahhak said he would or even how he was supposed to react. That thought didn’t help Karkat’s breathing at all. The water returned, this time slower. It was quiet again, but oddly it was Equius who broke it.

“You are important to the Highblood. He ordered me to take care of you and make sure no harm came to you. Though I did not exactly succeed, I would fail completely if I culled you. You are discussing, a mistake, and wrong. But you must have something worth saving if the Highblood wants you around. And if Nepeta likes you so much. And do not worry, I shall not tell any of the others.” 

Karkat could only nod. His breathing was slowing down and evening out, but he didn’t trust his voice just yet. A minute passed and Equius told him to raise his arms so he could wrap the bandages around him. Karkat obeyed silently. In fact, he was trying to make himself as quiet as possible in hopes he didn’t accidentally change Equius’s mind.

Soon the bandages were wrapped around him and Karkat felt more than heard Equius stand. Then he has his sweater tossed into his lap. He slipped it on and stood. It was easier than it was before. Equius had already turned and was climbing down the wall. Karkat follows still deathly quiet. Karkat pucks up his dropped sickles and heads towards where Equius is standing, though how he knows the way out is beyond Karkat. The walk away as quietly as they came but this time it isn’t the silence of the planet that is keeping them quiet. 

When the hive becomes clearer than before, Equius stops and turns to stand directly in front of Karkat, crossing his arms and looking big. 

“Vantas, you have to say something before we go back.”

“What for,” Karkat growls on impulse before he remembers the gravity of the situation. Equius just snorts looking a little pleased with himself before answering.

“Because for some reason the Highblood likes you foul-mouthed. I can’t return you to him broken.”

“I’m not broken,” Karkat growls. A pause, then Equius turns and starts to walk back again.

“Good, it would be unfortunate if you were.”


	10. Gamzee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do not doubt little clown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> Thank you all for the support and comments as I've gone along. It means the world to me and has kept me motivated in posting this fic.   
> I have tried to follow the canon a bit so I kept the hit for a potential moiraillegiance while also showing that Gamzee is slowly diving off the deep end. Like Vriska, Gamzee was hell to write and I don't know why I thought it was a good idea to set up the pattern so I write from his perspective. To anyone who writes from Makara's perspective, you have my undying respect.

Gamzee loved the little lights that flashed on his screen when his friends talked to him. Their colors blinked all pretty with life and the special way each talked all up and like how they talked in person. Or so he was told by his most shouty of brothers when he asked. What’s funny was Karbro was motherfuckin’ right. Tavbro talks with the cutest shuddery quiver to his words like he wants to be absolutely sure he’s saying the right thing. It’s so much more fun to listen to him talk in person. Gamzee’s hoof-beast brother talks all serious and with a lot of puns, much like his kitty sis. And Karbro, true to form, shouts a lot. Though not all the time. That would up and be the most harmful to his little voice cords. Gamzee likes talking with his friends in person. Especially Karbro ‘cause he’s not so mean in person. Gamzee can see the way he looks away or how his voice changes slightly though the words are still up and harsh-like. Gamzee really likes talking with Karkat. 

And Karkat must not mind him too much if he hangs out with Gamzee so much. Like, he could be with Terezi more, and he is for a fair portion, but he’s with Gamzee a bunch too. He claims its to keep him out of the trouble that likes to follow Gamzee’s clumsy self, but Gamzee does some looking after of his littlest yelling bro too. He all and feeds those black little imps some pies and gets them all peaceful and shit so Karkat doesn’t have no problems when he takes his sickles to the fuckers. Of course, the first time they did that Gamzee may have been a little put out. How was he supposed to know he was supposed to up and kill those friendly little brothers in order to win? Tavros wasn’t, though Spider Bitch was killing enough for the both of them.

“GAMZEE MAKARA,” Shouts a failure voice though Gamzee’s haze, clearing his thought process a bit. “Can you FOCUS for an at least a SECOND?!”

“Sorry, Brother. Guess I up and spaced out on ya, huh?”

“If you call spacing out staring at a wall while I try to have an important conversation with you spacing out they, yes Gamzee, you spaced out and missed the introduction to one of the most important speeches of both our short fucking lives! Congrats!”

“Chill best friend,” Gamzee chuckles “I am listening, now aren’t I?”

“Yeah, but you were listening before too! I even took the fucking precaution of ASKING you if you were listening and you said you were!”

“You know how I can’t my focus on a long when you’re out spoiling the miracles brother. Why not try and keep into a single sentence? I know I can get my understand on that best friend.”

“…” Karkat glares but doesn’t say anything for a moment, and Gamzee begins to get the impression he missed something important. “Never-fucking-mind, you dumbfuck asshole clown.”

Now Gamzee knows he missed something important, but Karkat’s walls are all up and his shoulders are hunched painfully up like some sort of defense. Now Gamzee was curious but Karkat was walking away- well, more like stomping away- and Gamzee followed after, keeping quiet and shuffling his feet a little, though not enough for threats to hear. Just enough for Karkat to know he’s being followed, though Karkat didn’t acknowledge it at all. Gamzee started to make little sounds more often, trying to get Karkat’s attention without actually reaching out to do so. Gamzee wasn’t sure if he could. He wasn’t used to unresponsive, quiet Karkat; didn’t know what the rules were for this social thing-a-ma-bob. He must have spaced out during something REALLY important. Pretty soon this silent avoidant Karkat is too much and Gamzee decides to risk reaching out. 

“Hey, best friend,” Gamzee starts. He doesn’t get a response, no sign that he was heard, so he keeps going. “Where are we going?”

“Where am I going, you mean. I never asked you to follow me,” comes a hissed response.

“You didn’t tell me not to though,” Gamzee mutters after a moment. “Figuring as I have nowhere’s else to up and put my self right at the time, I might just follow your self until you a little less mad at me.” 

“Who the fuck says I’m mad at you?”

“Well, seeing as you weren’t really showing that you knew I was following you until now, I’d say you, best friend.” Karkat just huffs, but he stops walking to lean up on one of the black structures in his little miracle of a holy red world. Gamzee hadn’t noticed they’d traveled so far that Karkat’s little hive just an odd-looking building in the distance. Karkat, now against the black building, was forced to at least turn towards Gamzee, and Gamzee found himself struggling to look Karkat in the eyes because of the steady, closed off stare he was giving Gamzee for an unknown length of time. Karbro just kept staring, not glaring which was odd on its own, and staring like he was looking for something and was struggling to find it. Or maybe he found it but now didn’t know how to proceed since the last time he tried didn’t go over very well. 

“What do you think of my planet,” Karkat askes suddenly.

“Oh, uh. It’s nice bro. All warm with dark buildings and the prettiest water I’ve ever laid my gander balls at. All shiny and hot like a pie, though so much more!”

“More,” Karkat rises an eyebrow at that, the first almost normal reaction Gamzee had managed to get out of him since Karkat tried to walk away. 

“More, like…All shiny. And pretty and… it’s the best miracle I’ve ever seen. It’s such a holy color and never quite as motherfucking pure when done up in cloth like Kansis’s favorite skirt or Terezi’s chalk. It’s always missing that glow, you know. It's never as pretty in cloth and clothing. So, your little red rivers and lakes are all up and about the best miracle I’ve seen. It’s messiah red bro!”

“Okay,” Karkat says, looking thoughtful again and still guarded. “So, you like it because it's holy to your bullshit clown religion?” Gamzee winces but knows Karbro isn’t being disrespectful on purpose. Poor little thing doesn’t even up and believe in miracles, much less get his comprehend on with the motherfucking truth in the Vast Honk and the Messiahs Smile and Frown.

“Not really bro. Even if it wasn’t the most holiest of colors, it's still the most pretty, being all shiny and bright. Like, who even said it was a thing it could all up and be, bro?”

“You’re a dumbass,” Karkat huffs softly. He pauses before going on. “So, the color doesn’t offend you?”

“Bro, you know I don’t have a care about no hemo-color. That all seams motherfucking silly seeing as Tavbro is one of the truest miracles I’ve ever been blessed with getting my knowing on about and he’s what the drones are all on unkind on to because of his warm little hue.” Something all unmirthful stirs in the back of his pan at that comment but it’s the truth so he makes a note to shove another pie down later and quite down the restlessness of his own little miracle killing thoughts. 

“Okay, so I’m guessing that was a no,” he says, and you just sort of hum. If Gamzee didn’t have a feeling that this might be the ‘Important’ Karbro was trying to get his tell on about before, he would say it was a miracle and move on. Karkat doesn’t answer right away. “Alright, so I am going to try to keep this shorter than before in interesting of you fucking short attention span, you supor-paned moron. So, let me ask again. Are you going to listen this time?”

“Sure thing, best friend.” And Gamzee means it this time. 

“Good. So, as I was saying before you spaced the fuck out on me, we will probably be working together a lot since I’m about done with my Planet’s little quest and you haven’t even started yours. And since everyone else is pretty much paired off as it is because hormones are a thing everyone seems to be discovering all at once like a bunch of irresponsible, emotionally unstable assholes. So, to avoid a really awkward situation or some shit, I have been thinking that I …Might have to tell you my color just in case I get hurt or something and freak out, which is really un-fucking-likely knowing you but still something I would really like to avoid because, if I need you help with shit and your all freaking out about ‘miracles’ or whatever bullshit goes on in your pan, it would be really dangerous.”

“Best friend,” Gamzee cuts him off because Karkat is hardly breathing he’s talking too fast and Gamzee isn’t getting all of the words meanings. “Slow down a beat, ‘kay? I need to try and get my understand on. You’re trying to get your say on you not wanting me to freak the fuck out should I see your color and not help you if you ask, right?”

“Yeah, I guess. And it's rude to interrupt people Gamzee!”

“Chill, Bro. Didn’t mean anything by it, just trying to get my understand on is all.” Gamzee says and then stopped because Karkat looks even more jittery than before. Looking around like wants an escape like they are not standing outside and with only one wall and a small range of troll blocking any absconding attempts he might make. Still, Gamzee waits and takes a step back so as to look a little less like the tall motherfucker he is. He decides to sit down to because he’s a little shorter than Karkat when he does. That seems to do a calm on his best bro a bit. Points to him for friendship and shit!

“Okay, so yeah I guess I need to actually show you then,” Karbro stay, standing taller and tenser, drawing the wicked curved blade. “Just. Don’t do anything weird.”

He takes a deep breath, pushes his sweater up a bit and uses the tip of a claw to poke at the back of his wrist gently. His breathing gets faster, and clearly, Karbro isn’t trying to up an hide the fear no more cause the sent is coming off him so strongly now it’s a little headache-inducing. That motherfucking restless bit of him wants to pull his weapons out and put Karbro out of his misery. But lighter, more softer, kinda pale voice wants to up and hug his best friend and heal the cut like the little nothing it is. But that might be a little forward warns a voice that sounds a bit like Karkat himself so Gamzee goes for the middle ground. He stands, slow and quiet like so as not to startle his little bro further and stops. 

The color, was the holiest of holies, and shiny and red and pouring from the small cut on the top of his best miracle brother’s wrist. Its so bright and Gamzee sort of gasps because that right there is the holy blood of Messiah Frown all red and angry just like his god should be. For a moment, Gamzee doubts. He doubts that Messiah Frown is not a troll like the holy Joke says. He doubts that the Vast Honk wasn’t the sound made by those flaming falling rocks as the Game started. He doubts that those holy words of his religion and the miracles where motherfucking right. He doubts and doubts and doubts for as long as it takes Karkat to notice that Gamzee noticed. The awful voice in the back of his pan is getting louder and angrier. That there is wrong. That red belongs as blood in only one creature that is sure as Carnival not troll. 

“G-Gamzee,” Karkat says, pulling arm away and pulling his gray sleeve over the cut holy. “Do you want to say anything? Because right now would be a fucking great time to do so.” And just like that, Gamzee isn’t doubting anymore. It’s still a holy color (and the violent part of him says is motherfucking BLASPHEMOUS that Karbro should even BLEED THAT WAY) but he’s his best friend, like before, doesn’t mean nothing by it.

“It’s about the holiest miracle I’ve ever up and seen brother,” Gamzee smiles. Because it is a holy color (and though Karkat SHOULDN’T HAVE IT) and Gamzee never thought he’d be blessed enough to see it as blood. It really was a miracle. Damn, his pan hurt. He’d need another pie sooner than later. “It’s just as pretty as your miracle water.”

“Gamzee I told you not to say anything weird,” Karkat blushes darkly, and through the skin, he can see how it looks slightly off from the rusty red like Ghost-sis used to be.

“No,” Gamzee answers, pulling out a pie slice of pie he left uneaten before and eats it before Karkat can swipe it away. He swallows before going on. “You said not to DO anything weird. You said nothing about saying and besides, it’s the truth. You got a miracle, holy blood running through you, best friend!” Gamzee grins. Damn, he loved his pies they work true miracles on the most unmirthful of voices. 

“Whatever, you goofy asshole. It's not holy or precious. It’s a mutation. I could get culled for this so don’t you DARE tell anyone ever! Got it,” Karkat hisses, not looking Gamzee in the eye. Gamzee gets his understand on that because as much as even the most unmirthful parts of him don’t want Karbro to bleed that color, even they don’t want Karbro to die, or at least don’t want to holy blood spilled needlessly. That would be the most blasphemous thing to even be a thing or a thought. 

“Sure thing Bro. Not a word or say on the miracle of you.” Gamzee promises. Karkat represses a smile before turning away.

“Okay. Good. Glad we agree,” he says quickly. “Now come on we do have things to do to win this game. Jack should be around here some were with some intel on your Denizen.”

“Sure thing, Best Friend,” Gamzee says following, and zoning out the rest of Karbro’s rambling on about his beast since the ‘Important’ is out of the way now.

The darker part, the part that the small bit of pie couldn’t mute all the way, is still angry at Karkat’s color but while Gamzee is still him, he wants to show his best friend that despite his holy blood, he is still very much one of the best miracles Gamzee has even gotten his know on about.


	11. Eridan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is like you, you are like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I noticed the last few were a bit short so I tried to make this one longer. I hope you enjoy!

Eridan suspected for about two sweeps before he found out. It really wasn’t that hard for someone like him to put it together really. He loved history, especially warcraft, and since Vriska was obsessed with her ancestor he learned a little about his just so they could argue about something more than strategy during a game. That was what their Kismisistude was based on to some degree and Eridan was much more into warcraft than learning about what other specific people did. Vriska just wanted to get her role play right. Despite his disinterest, Eridan was always the better historian and did learn a bit more than Vriska about the lives her ancestor mentioned. It was fairly easy to see several connections between some of their friends through the descriptions and cross-checking records, this included records of a signless Sufferer and the revolution led by Nitram’s ancestor later on.

Eridan recognized Karkat’s sign as the one the Rebellion gave the Sufferer. It was the sign of the Sufferer's chains. Eridan turned a blind eye and stopped looking into people so much. 

He still suspected and he couldn’t just unread that, but he didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to know for sure because then he would feel obligated to do something about it. Not like he couldn’t do something about it now. He was a fucking sea dweller. He could tell the drones on the planet to strike the area he knows Karkat’s have is in. There are a bunch of lowbloods around there and it would look like an accident. But it would still upset Feferi (it would upset him) and besides, it would interfere with his plans for getting rid of the land-dwellers entirely (he doesn’t have a plan). Really, it’s the smart move to wait. Just a bit longer. Then the Game started, and Eridan got landed with the worst damn ‘helps’ he has ever had the displeasure of trying to murder. Trying to ignore his suppositions and avoid meeting Karkat in person came second to needed to get away from his world.

caligulasAquarium [CA] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG]

CA: kar

CA: kar are you there

CA: answwer me damn it

CA: I need someone to talk to here kar

CA: these damn pain in the ass angles are wwhisperin again

CA: KAR

CG: YOU NEEDY FUCK

CG: WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY NEED FROM ME NOW YOU LUMBERING ASSWIPE?

CG: OH THE ANGLES ARE BOTHERING YOU?

CG: KANAYA MENTIONED THAT THAT WAS A THING 

CG: COME TO THINK ABOUT IT SO DID GAMZEE, FOR ALL THE EMPTY AIR BETWEEN HIS HORNS

CG: AND SOLLUX 

CG: SERIOUSLY WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TALKING TO SOLLUX?

CG: I THOUGHT YOU HATED HIM

CA: i hate sol platonically for takin fef from me

CA: seriously kar you knoww she’s the fuckin heiress

CA: she deserves someone better suited for her status

CA: and yes the angels are bothin me

CA: again

CA: they wwhisper shit wwhen im killin them

CG: WAIT A MINUTE

CG: WHEN YOU KILL THEM? THEY AREN’T IMPS OR YOU DENESISN YOU AREN’T SUPPOSED TO FUCKING SLAUGHTER THEM FOR NO REASON

CG: AND IF THEIR ONLY WHISPERING WHEN YOU KILL THEM YOU REALLY SHOULDN’T BE KILLING THEM

CG: IT’S NOT LIKE THEY’RE JUST GOING TO LAY DOWN AND TAKE YOU FUCKING DEATHSTROKE

CG: NO ONE WOULD DO THAT YOU NOOKSTAIN, NOT EVEN SOMEONE WHO DESERVES IT

CA: wwell it sounds easy wwhen you say it like that

CA: but their fuckin creepy kar

CA: their massive shadoww monsters that just fly abovve me and judge my actions for fuck's sake

CA: wwhat was I supposed to do

CG: TALK TO THEM DUMBASS

CG: THEIR SENTIENT RIGHT? TALK A LESSON FROM FEFERI’S BOOK AND TRY NOT KILLING FIRST FOR A FUCKING START.

CG: GOG DAMN YOU’VE SPENT WAY TOO MUCH TIME WITH VRISKA

CA: I actually havven’t spent any time wwith vvris since the bloody game started

CA: I havvent spent time wwith anyone except that one-time sol tried to fuckin bloww my pan off 

CG: YOU STARTED THAT FIGHT FUCKASS, NOT SOLLUX

CG: BUT I GUESS IT'S NOT SO GREAT THAT YOU’RE STILL ON YOU FUCKING OWN

CG: AND IF THE ANGELS ARE REALLY STARTING TO BOTHER YOU SO FUCKING MUCH THAT YOU WOULD COME CRYING TO ME

CG: I GUESS YOU CAN COME FOR A VISIT

CG: I THINK YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE I HAVE YET TO MEET IN PERSON

CA: alright I guess I can manage that

CA: if you insist kar

CG: JUST GET YOUR SNOBY ASS OVER HERE BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND

CG: I’LL TRY TO MEET YOU AT MY HIVE SO YOU DON’T WANDER AROUND TO MUCH OR START SHOOTING THE WATER LIKE A DUMBASS

CG: OH SHIT

CA: wwhat

CG: THE WATER IS RED

CG: IT’S NOT GOING TO DRIVE YOU INTO A KILLING SPREE, IS IT?

CG: BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE THE DUMBEST REASON TO START KILLING EVERY FUCKING THING YOU SEE

CG: “OH GEEZ THE WATER’S RED, BETTER START KILLING”

CA: relax kar

CA: it is an ugly color but I wwont start killin everybody ovver it

CA: im not that stupid

CG: GOOD

CG: THEN I’LL SEE YOU PRETTY FUCKING SOON THEN

CA: yea

CA: sea you soon

CA: shit sea pun 

carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased trolling  caligulasAquarium [CA]

Of course, Eridan was walking towards his own hive during the conversation because he was hoping to be invited over, or for Kar to ask to come here. Either way, he didn’t want to be alone any longer. These damn angles kept whispering to him. Just one death and suddenly all of them won’t stop judging and following and whispering and flocking. Eridan is are more on edge than any hunt for Feferi or any game played with Vriska ever put him, which is saying a lot because Vriska would have jumped him any moment he lowered his gun.

The angels are different then Vriska. Where Vriska is loud, these creatures are quiet, only the fluttering of wings before a voice sounds near his head from behind with a breath, though the creatures have no mouths and are still flying a good three yards away and above him. What’s worse is they whispered with such kindness, like a Lusus talking to a sad grub. They say things his friends had said to him at some point or another; Feferi calling him exhausting, Sollux calling him an obsessive and toxic partner, or Vriska calling him weak. Then the angels would promise comfort with them if he stopped firing and fighting them. He didn’t stop. He couldn’t, not because he didn’t want to, but because he feared what would happen if he did. He still doesn’t know why he fired at them in the first place, they were just flying around being creepy, but minding their own business. Maybe Kar was right. That doesn’t mean he can stop now though. 

He arrives at his hive with at least six of those things following him but with the odd foggy white light, it was hard to tell. He climbed to the platform with the portal to a very black and red-looking planet and jumped through to the platform on the other side to avoid anymore falls. That had been Karkat’s idea and while everyone had moaned and grumbled about wasting grist on the jumping and landing platforms, Eridan guesses they were useful. He certainly would not have wanted to try landing safely from this height. He saw some shapes getting closer to the hive so he stayed on the outside stairs and walked to the main level before entering.

Karkat’s hive was just about what he would have expected for a land-dwelling troll, and everything pointed to him being lower than blue, but he tried not to think about it or look for signs of Karkat’s color. He doesn’t want to know because he doesn’t want to have to do anything. Thankfully that thought it temporarily was forgotten when Karkat himself walks him. 

He’s shorter than Eridan by quite a bit, and his horns are just as nubby as he complained about. His fangs are seriously dull and so are his claws. Despite the warriors build the sweater tried to hide and the sickles he still had out; he was in no way a threat to Eridan. Eridan was sort of ashamed he thought that first, Karkat was his friend he didn’t need to fight him, but it was a habit at this point. He tried to smile and sit down to appear less threatening. It seemed it work which sent another wave of shame though him because that meant Karkat’s first impression was just how much of a threat Eridan is.

“I can’t believe you actually wear a cape,” Karkat started. “Holy fuck Eridan I thought you were joking.”

“It’s fashionable, far more so than that sweater,” Eridan huffed. “I can’t believe you don’t actually yell.”

“It gets people’s attention on Trollian because everyone really likes to fucking ignore me otherwise. Do you want anything to drink?” He’s already gotten out two cups and a jug of something sweet-smelling. It's considerate of him. Offer the sea-dweller something liquid related because they came to you when you couldn’t go to them. Kar must have read something about manners with royalty somewhere.

“Sure,” Eridan says, though Kar’s already started filling the second. When he gets closer, Eridan can smell the nervousness on Karkat’s clothes and now Eridan is just offended, but he waits because he’s an asshole and wants to use it for at least a little entertainment. Thank fuck Kar’s put away his weapons already. He waited until Kar was handing him the glass and he was reaching out to grab it before moving his fingers just slightly so that the glass would fall through. It works and when Karkat things he’s grabbed it; he lets the glass go and it falls to the floor. Karkat nearly jumps up on the counter. Eridan stands as if he was surprised as well.

“Holy flying fuck on a stick, fish face,” Karkat screeches from behind the counter. “Warn a pal about your grub sauce figures next time I hand you anything ever again!”

“Relax Kar, it’s just a cup,” Eridan says getting up to move away from the mess of glass and liquid. “Sheesh, it’s almost like you’re afraid of me or something.” Watching Kar’s reaction was fascinating because he went from a slight frown and questioning look before his brows shot up briefly and his mouth open as they came back down in a scowl. Then, the weirdest thing ever, his mouth shut with a click of teeth and he broke eye contact. What? 

Eridan maybe bad at reading people on occasion but he was pretty sure that was Karkat not rising to the challenge and saying he wasn’t afraid of anything are reaffirming his leadership status. That wasn’t a no or even a lied no for the sake of face, meaning Karkat admitted to at least being uncomfortable with Eridan. That wasn’t a no. That was a yes. Holy fucking shit. 

“Kar… you’re not afraid of me, are you,” Eridan asked directly. He didn’t want this answer any more than he wanted to know Karkat’s color. This might be more confirmation than he wants.

“No, why the fuck would you think that,” Karkat growls, and it would have been convincing, except he wouldn’t look Eridan in the eyes. That no was a lie, and somehow that was worse than the silent yes. 

“You hesitated,” Eridan accuses with a glare that he hopes is more offense than hurt. Finally, Karkat looks up and the brief look of panic says otherwise

“No, I didn’t. You’ve just been away from everyone for so long that you don’t even fucking know what social cues mean what anymore.”

“Fuck you, Kar! I haven’t been away from everyone that long, and you did hesitate. You didn’t answer my challenge and then you hesitated and lied when it wasn’t just a joke! And now you’re dodging the fucking question by saying something you know will offend me!”

“Well, what the hell do you want from me,” Karkat bellows, taking a step closer, trying and failing to look aggressive.

“An answer, you pain in the ass low life!”

“Well, if you are so sure my no was a lie then you already have your answer by default, you dumbfuck!” 

Eridan didn’t answer. That was a yes. Karkat was afraid of him. Somehow that hurt more than it should. He was royalty set on destroying land-dwellers, Karkat had every reason to fear him but for some reason, it really bothered him. He should be proud that he strikes fear into those beneath him. He should feel validated. He must have stayed quiet for too long because then Karkat raced from the room and out his front door. Eridan didn’t follow. 

Eridan needed to think, so he tried not to bother with the idea that royalty shouldn’t be cleaning up a broken cup. Doing something helped his thoughts sort themselves out. It was for him not for an apology to a low blood.

Karkat was afraid of him. He should be, it would be stupid not to be, he’s near the very top of the food chain (long perfect iron claws, sharp fangs, naturally strong and swift), the best of the best, and set on destroying the land dwellers for their crimes against the oceans (for making Fef cry over the dead fish, for the oil in his lungs when he swam to close to the wrong shore). The conversation with Feferi before the game started echoes in his mind (before she dumped him) about how he seems to be fond of some of his land-dwelling friends. And he is fond of them, Karkat included. It's not unheard of, it's common for invaders to grow fond of the people they plan to use and possible kill someday to achieve their goals. So yes, it's normal for Karkat to be afraid of him. 

So why the hell does it bother him so much? Because that means Karkat’s on to him? No, because Karkat always knew he wanted to cull land-dwellers, he was never exactly shy about his plans and Karkat wasn’t stupid. Eridan’s plans included his death as well. But Karkat still talked to him and gave advice about relationships since he was apparently very bad at them. Even friendship because he should care so much that Karkat is afraid of him because everyone is afraid of him the first time they meet him. He’s a fucking sea dweller and formerly the heiress’s moirail. He is the second most powerful troll left in existence. He had just hoped Karkat was different.

The glass and liquid were clean now and Eridan was just sitting in the kitchen (fuck the low-bloods who call it the meal preparation block, that’s way too long to say) because he really didn’t want to go back to the angels. They would only add this to the words his friends had said, and Karkat’s voice was one of the only ones missing. Besides, Karkat had to come back eventually. He had a new question he wanted to be answered.

Karkat fucking knew he was a high blood, a sea-dweller who was close the heiress and planned on killing the land-dwellers eventually. He never once showed fear in their conversations. He showed rage, called Eridan stupid in more than one way and on more than one occasion, but was never afraid to do so. He showed concern and a desire to become friends, though he rejected and advances Eridan made for them to become more. Why was he afraid of Eridan now, beyond the nervousness of meeting an online friend in person? What had he done that caused Karkat to fear him?

Eridan waited. And waited, and thought, and over thought, and waited some more. Karkat was taking him time returning and the silence was terrible, but it wasn’t filled with angels and the fear that something would jump out at him at any second, so it wasn’t too bad. He kept waiting. 

The front door bangs open. Eridan shot up and into the hall. Several of Karkat’s world’s inhabitance shuffled Karkat in. He was covered in imp blood but appeared unconscious. They set him on the couch (fuck low-bloods for calling it anything else), yapped gibberish at him, then left. Eridan was then left with the subject of his thoughts out cold on the couch, covered in blood. What the fuck?

Maybe this was a chance to prove that at least now he wasn’t a threat to Karkat and make amends for whatever he did? If he isn’t creepy about it, it should be fine right? Right. Eridan moves quickly to the kitchen, grabbed what he hoped was useable towels and a serving bowl of water, then came back to try to remove as much blood as possible without removing Karkat’s clothes. That would only piss the troll off. That would piss any troll off honestly. The blood on his face and hands came off easily and allowed Eridan to search his friend for injury. That was when he noticed there was only one color on Karkat. 

Karkat’s clothes were clearly ripped on his calf that spelled a cut on his leg when Eridan raised it to rest on the couch armrest, but for the life of him, he couldn’t see any difference in the ugly cherry. Not even a rust tint changed the shade in the slightest.

Eridan hadn’t been thinking about how Karkat’s fear might have been something else, not having to do with Eridan’s actions because it was always Eridan’s fault when someone left. But he also really didn’t want it to be added to the growing pile of evidence that Karkat was indeed related to that famous mutant. He dropped his friend's leg roughly and looked over Karkat for more torn clothes. There was a rather bad one on his lower side, near his stomach on the side currently pressed against the couch. There were a few smaller cuts on his arms. All of them had cherry red coating Karkat’s sweater instead of any other color. Eridan felt sick and his head started to pound. 

It still could have been imp blood, just from a very big imp. Then Eridan looked up to Karkat’s face, still relatively clear from just a moment ago when Eridan cleaned it. A trail of cherry red runs from Karkat’s hairline down towards his nose slowly. Yeah, there is no way that is from an imp. Karkat is a mutant and related to the signless Sufferer. All Eridan can see is the color. The damn color that could change the bloodlines and infect the species, turning them weaker. Or worse yet, turn them away from the Empire and the Empress; turn trolls away from Feferi. Eridan is still staring at the blood on the mutant’s forehead when he wakes up. 

First, its eyes open slowly and stare back at Eridan blankly while it gathers its wits. Then they grow wide in terror and it glances down at itself then back at Eridan. That moment was enough. Eridan was on his feet, Ahab’s Crosshairs in his hands, charged and ready to fire, resting just above its blood pusher. Normally, attempting to kill a living thing (a troll) by going for the blood pusher would keep it alive for a while longer, long enough for the victor to play with their kill. With Eridan’s weapon though, the blast would kill the mutant, the couch and a good portion of the floor in a blow. For its part, the mutant seems to have dropped its weapons when it was knocked uncurious. It still looks like it might try something, though what Eridan isn’t sure. 

“Don’t try it,” Eridan growls, showing teeth because he is in charge here. For a second, the mutant has the gall to look betrayed, eyebrows pinched together and mouth slightly agape like it might try to say something. It was almost wise to think better of it. The mutant looked down and closed its mouth. Now it just looked defeated and sad. (Not) Good.

“Fine. Just… do it quickly.” Of course, Karkat would ruin everything by talking. He was very good at talking because just that was enough to cause Eridan to hesitate and remember this was a troll and this troll was his friend. This troll was his very good friend. Karkat was more than an ‘it’. 

Karkat didn’t see the jolt of …something, he just sent through Eridan because he was laying back again (when had he started leaning upwards?) and closing his eyes. His body went limp below the gun and if it wasn’t for the irregular, panicky breathing, Eridan would think he was out again.

Eridan was… a bit at a loss. Everything in him, every ounce of loyalty to Feferi and the Empire, all his school feeding and personal history endeavors told him to shoot now before the mutant changed its mind on dying quietly. The other part of him, the part that Karkat just won back, argued that this was his friend, his best friend, maybe his only friend period, and he really didn’t want to do this. Now, staring down at his friend with his weapon aimed for a deadly blow and Karkat incapable or unwilling to do anything to save his own life, he really did not want to cull him. Eridan hesitated. Karkat kept breathing (short, short, fast). Neither of them moved.

The Eridan lowered his weapon and sat on one of the chairs Kar has near the couch to hold his head, the gun leaning against the chair beside him.

“Damn it, Kar, why do you always have to speak and ruin everything,” Eridan asked. 

“What the fuck are you talking about,” Kar asked, far quieter than Eridan liked.

“I mean I was all set and convinced that taking you out would be for the good of everyone body and the universe we’re trying to make, and then you go talking and asking me to just do it fast and suddenly I can’t pull the fucking trigger,” Eridan all but yells at the window and into his hands. “And now I don’t fucking know what to do because you’re disgusting but I don’t want you dead, except I know that I will probably use it against you, and I don’t want to do that either. Gog damn it, Kar, it would have been easier if you’d just stayed quiet.”

“What… what are you going to do,” Kar asks after a moment where everything is too quiet. 

“I don’t fucking know; did you not hear what I was just saying? I don’t know what to do anymore. I can’t kill you. I can’t trust myself with this information. I’m not sure where we stand now.” Eridan looked up then, Kar had moved into a sitting up position against the armrest of the couch. There was a trace of blood still on his face but it looked like he had tried to wipe it away. He looked… really bad. Holy shit he’s still injured and possibly dying.

“Maybe I can help with the last one,” Karkat askes. He sounds like Nitram, asking to speak at all. Karkat never asked if he should speak before. 

“Where we stand,” Eridan asked because he honestly thought Karkat would be more pissed at this point. “Aren’t you pissed off with me?”

“Well, yeah,” Karkat admits. “That was not an okay thing to do Eridan. If you have any desire to keep any relation with someone you do not point a weapon at them and make them think you’re going to fucking cull them for something that had no say in. That was pretty ass-backward and cruel, even by your standers. But you didn’t actually cull me and are clearly sort of upset by all this. Also, I’m sort of getting used to people finding out in pretty fucking terrible ways so, there’s that.” 

“Who else knows?”

“Gamzee, Aradia, Tavros, Sollux, Nepeta, and Terezi.” 

“And they did nothing,” Eridan asks a little skeptical.

“They said they didn’t care.”

“Oh,” wow that was intelligent. Try again. “I guess I’m passed saying that huh?”

“Yeah,” Karkat agrees, looking away. “I wouldn’t believe it now if you tried.”

“Right.” A pause, before he continues. “So where do you stand then?”

“I… I don’t know. Do you still want anything to do with me now that you know?”

“I…” Eridan has to think about that one. Does he? He can’t kill Karkat because he is Eridan’s friend, but does he still want that? Does he want more, less, nothing, or the same? He learned from last time not to offer a new different relationship when the old one has either ended or could end but he doesn’t want to have nothing to do with Karkat either. He must answer carefully. 

“I do,” he says. “want you as my friend I mean. You’re the only one who listens to me now and you were always very good at helping me out when I needed it. Plus, you’re funny. So, yes. I want to still be friends.” Carefulness out of the way, he also needs to be honest. “But I don’t know if I can trust myself with just that holding me back. I almost killed you, Kar. I don’t want to do that again.”

“Okay…” Karkat says, thinking himself. “I still want to be friends too. I also would rather not fucking die. So… how about a pact? I’ll help you out when you’re in danger of doing anything stupid whenever you come to talk to me. Deal?”

Eridan has to think about that again because the last time he had anything pale, he went red and ruined everything. But he always had Flushed inclination towards Fef. He’s never had that with Kar. Maybe it could work as a temporary thing. One fact of troll society is that you can never hurt a quadrant mate. Even a temporary pact one. However, this doesn’t seem like something ‘Karkat-the-romance-expert’ would ever offer.

“Are you sure Kar,” Eridan asks. “You’re basically asking to be temporarily Moirails. Won’t that take away the magic of your first palemate?” 

“What, no I the fuck am not offering to be your temporary moirail, what the shit Eridan? I’m offering to be your official best friend until you do get a moirail. There is a difference and explaining will have to be my first order of business since you clearly don’t know it.”

“Okay,” Eridan says looking down and thinking again. When he looks up, he notices more blood on Kar’s face and a faraway look in his eyes. He still looks fucking terrible. “I’ll agree if that means I can take you to Fef for healing while you talk.”

Now it’s Karkat’s turn to think again but he closes his eyes and doesn’t open them right away. Eridan gets up and kneels by the couch. 

“Kar,” Eridan tries and doesn’t get a response so he snaps his fingers under the other troll’s nose. “Kar, wake up.”

“Wha- shit Eridan. When’d you move?”

“A moment ago. Do you agree to my condition?”

“I… yeah I better since that caught me off guard after everything,” he said, but the fear sent was back. “It's just, Feferi doesn’t know yet.”

“Kar, do you honestly think Fef is going to care?” he started at Eridan like he was a genius. Shit, how bad was his pan damage? 

“You’re right! She wouldn’t give a shit, would she!? Take me there then,” Karkat orders. He doesn’t even protest when Eridan picks him up to carry him. Fuck, he was really, really hurt. Eridan hoped Karkat didn’t die on the way because kissing him might throw their tentative pact out the window. Karkat’s words about pact friends make since most of the way to Feferi’s world, and thankfully he doesn’t die after the words stop altogether.


	12. Feferi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look for riptides in your crab's mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!  
> I don't know how many of you finished the epilogues ( they were shit) (spoiler warning, not a big one) but it was mentioned that if Feferi had the chance to grow up she would have turned into her ancestor. Well, I am calling bullshit for several reasons.  
> 1) Feferi saw what the Condesce was up to and wanted to be different. She ever wanted to be like her ancestor and never saw her as a role model as Jane did. Feferi wanted to be different. Jane arguably never stopped seeing the Condesce as a role model.  
> 2) Jake, John, and Jade were all raised by the Condesce like Jane and either ran away, ignored it, or fought her. Feferi's relationship to her ancestor reminds me more of Alpha Jade's relationship with Condesce than Jane's.  
> 3) Both Jane and Nana are Maids of Life. The Condesce was a Thief of Life. What greater accomplishment is there of a thief but to steal the loyalty and mind of something made entirely of the thing you want most? Feferi was a Witch of life. She controlled Life but was not controlled by it. On top of that, Feferi was an active player (like the Condesce but to a different extreme) as a witch meaning she was not as influenced by her environment instead actively influencing it. Jane/Nana where passive players meaning they were influenced and moved in response to their environment, and their environment was controlled by the Condesce.  
> Saying Feferi would have turned out exactly like Condesce like Janes seamed to because of her aspect or her blood is cruel and unfair to Feferi as a character.  
> For those of you who have read the epilogues, I wanted to let you know where I was coming from with this. I will get off my soapbox and let you enjoy the story now.

Karkat woke up with a headache and the feeling over several bruises all over. He didn’t open his eyes right away, choosing instead to take note of everything else to avoid a headache that would grow with sight. He was laying on a soft something in a quiet environment. The soft wall on one side and the drop on the other suggested a lounge-plank. He was in someone’s hive then and probably safe from whatever he lost a fight with. 

Next, he tried to remember just what the fuck he had been stupid enough to pick a fight with that got him hurt enough to be weak and bleeding in someone’s hive. He recalled getting into a fight with Eridan. Maybe he was upset enough to not watch his surroundings and got jumped. That had to be it because he also remembers fighting them off but not having the strength to get back to safety. Then he must have woken up because he remembers Eridan aiming his rifle at his chest. The next part has to have been his imagination because he would rather go down fighting than simply laying back and giving a high blood snob permission to end it. Then again, past him is an idiot, but even right now he doesn’t feel like he would be able to win a fight with a hop-beast much less a troll of any caste. He thinks he reached an agreement of some sort with Eridan because here he is, still alive.

There was the sound of a door opening and Karkat’s eyes opened. As expected, the static in his head grew ten-fold and he groaned. Who thought bright light was a good idea to have around the injured person? Karkat tried to roll away from the light, but a pair of small, surprisingly soft hands stopped him from burying his face in the lounge-plank’s backrest.

“Karcrab, stop moving,” ordered a too high voice.

“Fuck you,” Karkat growled out weakly. Then his breathing stopped because that wasn’t a voice that was in on his little flaw. Most of his friends knew now, and he thought maybe one of them had found him since there were now more of those who knew than those who didn’t. He was wrong. “Wait, Feferi is that you?”

“Yep,” she squealed, popping the ‘p’ and drawing out the ‘e’. Good fucking clown god, she sounded just like her quirk. “Who else was supposed to heal you from those injuries, guppy?” Karkat grones and tries to turn away from her again. She holds him down again. “Sorry, I’ll lay off the puns and try not to sound so excited if it's hurting you.”

“Could have just let me kneel over and then kissed me,” Karkat complains because that would honestly have made this less painful. Also, he hates that she has to make an exception for him because he’s weak right now.

“But you would lose a life and then what would happen if you died again? We need you to lead us!”

“You could,” Karkat growls again but changes the subject because this isn’t what he wants to talk about right now. “How bad were the consequences of Past Me’s stupidity?”

“Whale- I mean well- you had a pan injury that bled a lot but it wasn’t anything too bad. You also had a bunch of cuts but only the one on your side was deep enough that I still had to bandage it after doing my Life-y thing. Mostly you suffered from blood loss so you’ll need to drink lots of water. It could have been worse, so there is nothing to worry about!” 

Karkat repressed another groan because she was still a way too cheerful even when it was dialed down. But she had answers, so he would put up with it. Thank whatever callous sod ran the universe that his sight was coming back

“How long was I out like a fucking chump?”

“Only one day, so there is nothing too worrying going on.”

“What happened to Eridan? And where am I? Last I heard, your planet was just a bunch of water bowls.”

“Slow down. I’ll answer all your questions after you eat somefin – er, thing- and drink a cup of water. Deal?” 

Karkat glared but nodded because she was at least doing the best she could. Besides, he needed to think. Feferi jumped up and ran from the room with another squeal. 

First on Karkat’s mind was the things he had asked (What happened with Eridan, where was he, who had come while he was out, what had been completed) but he also wanted to ask her about… what she now knows. She wouldn’t cull him for it, he knew that much, but he wasn’t sure her new definition for the word was much better. He didn’t want her pity or protection, damn it. He didn’t want to be her pet, kept in a cage for his own safety. That was stupid and he was more than capable of taking care of himself, fuck the fact that he had almost just died. That was just because he was being an idiot. And he could prove it too!

Slowly, Karkat forced himself to move. His side started to sting, but he ignored it in the interest of proving Feferi wrong. It hurt like a bitch but did manage to sit up against the armrest of the lounge-plank. He had wanted to angle himself, so it looked like he was sitting on it like he was supposed to, not at the side angle he was stuck in, but the look on Feferi’s face when she came back was worth it. She nearly dropped the tray of water and food. Karkat grinned savagely. Point made.

“Crab-kat,” she squeaked. “You’re too hurt to be moving right now! You cod have opened you wound again!” She set the food down on the little stand nearby and started to fuss. Or she tried to fuss but Karkat batted her away.

“I’m fucking fine, give me the food and talk while I eat.” She looked doubtful but did as he said. That was another score. Karkat took a long drink of the water cup; he hadn’t realized how thirsty he was; and motioned for her to start.

“Okay, so Eridan contacted me and said you were hurt and he was bringing you to me. I told him to leave you on the couch – don’t look at me like that, that’s what its called- the couch in Sollux’s hive because I don’t think I want to talk to him yet. He did and I came after I saw him leave. I tried to use my powers and I got you sort of healed, though it sort of hurt to do it. Sollux explained that you are a… a little different before I came in so you don’t have to worry about anything!”

“Did anyone come while I was out,” Karkat ground out around another bite of grubloaf.

“It's rude to talk with your mouthful, but yes. Gamzee, Terezi, and Nepeta stopped by when they could. And of coral – course- Kanaya, and most of the others asked about you. Sollux probably came through too, though I don’t think I saw him. He likes to pretend he doesn’t give a shit,” she giggled. Karkat rolled his eyes.

“What exactly did Sollux say about me,” Karkat demanded between bites.

“Well, he said you were a mutant and that he could go in with me if I thought I’d do anything that you might not like. But that wasn’t necessa-ray! I took care of you just fine.” She smiled, looking far too pleased with herself. 

“Yeah, I bet you’re just over the fucking moons about my progress,” Karkat growled around the grubloaf.

“Excuse me,” she demanded.

“I’m just another injured creature for you to coddle, aren’t I? If we were still on Alterina, I bet you would love to show everyone how to ‘properly’ cull a mutant. Just lock them the fuck up for their own safety because the Condece knows they can’t take care of themselves! I’d make the perfect post troll for your little conquest before you face the Empress, just look at how happy and safe I am in a high-up’s care, fuck the fact that the Pale Quadrant exists and stars forbid I have a fucking will of my own! Nope, just keep me locked up and ‘safe’ because the world is too much for my short, fragile -OW, FUCK YOU!” Karkat held his stinging cheek and glared at the heiress. She glared back before she started yelling.

“No, fuck you! Just because you needed my culling once doesn’t mean you are stuck here! Are you chained right now, do you see a cage? NO! You needed kelp and I offered it because I could do so! That is the change I want, I don’t want to get rid of the pale quadrant – I did have a moirail my-shell-f once, you absolute sea slug- and that is not what I mean when I say cool-bloods should cull warm-bloods. I would NEVER make you do somefin against your will, I don’t think that’s even possible, and I would never want an-otter troll ‘locked up for their own safety’ unless it was absolutely necessar-ray! The only fucking reasons you’re still here is because you just woke the fuck up and are currently still too weak to move! And don’t deny it because if you could, you would have stood up for that show of ignorance, you glubbing ungrateful jerk!”

Karkat stared because he didn’t expect that from the peace-preaching heiress that boasted of her new culling plan. He tried to pretend his stare was a glare to hide the searching he was doing but honestly, he couldn’t find the lie. She must mean that. Huh.

“Sorry,” he growled and turned back to the food, hoping she could be appeased with that because like hell was he giving her anything else. Sorry wasn’t something he said easily, he’d much rather prove he was right. Karkat guesses its just the blood loss that weakened his argumentative spirit. 

“You’re forgiven,” she huffs, it's clear she’s still angry but at least she’s letting it go too. There is an uncomfortable pause which Karkat uses to eat some more of the rich food. Stupid High Blood, well-made grubloaf. Finally, Feferi breaks the quiet.

“Are you feeling any better,” she sounds less angry.

“Yeah. Food helps,” Karkat says with his mouth full again. She doesn’t correct him this time. Good. 

“Good,” she says, all business. “I’m not going to try to do the Life-y thing again but you should be able to take some pain medicine. You’ll heal quickly enough as long as you take it easy.”

“Yeah, yeah. I won’t do anything that stupid again.” She glares at him again but it's not all that angry now. 

“Ok-ray. Then you can go when you want.” She turned to leave, probably for the last time as Karkat pulled out his crab-top to scroll through long, worried, messages from his friends. He tried not to smile. When he noticed she was almost gone he called out again.

“And, Fef,” she stopped. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome Crab-Catch,” she giggles, then disappears. When she and Sollux return, Karkat plans on being gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank all of you so much for reading this and putting up with any mistakes. This was a lot of fun to explore and I really appreciated all the support. It was motivating to read the comments and seeing people enjoying my writing.  
> Thank you. :)


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